Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Yanks Make McCann Signing Official (UPDATED)

The Yankees have issued the formal statement, so I guess that means everything checked out with the physical and Brian McCann is now officially the 37th current member of the roster and the starting catcher for the 2014 season.  As part of the team's official statement, Hal Steinbrenner had this to say:

“The singular and unwavering desire of this organization is to construct a team each and every season designed to play meaningful baseball deep into October.  In Brian McCann, we feel we have made a significant improvement to a key position, while adding a high-character presence to our clubhouse. Our work this offseason has just begun, but we feel this is an important step towards what will be an exciting and rewarding 2014 season for our fans.”

Big, bold words that match up with what the team has been saying for a while and doing since the green flag dropped on this offseason.  I said after the deal was signed that I thought this was a great move for the Yankees for multiple reasons.  They've added an elite catcher for a reasonable amount of years at market value and will have the added benefit of extending his career thanks to the DH spot in the American League.  Looking forward to McCann's introductory presser on Thursday and finding out what number he'll wear.

** UPDATE 4:10 PM- Via Joel Sherman, here are the details on the vesting option: 1,000 PA in 2017-2018, 90 games at catcher in 2018, and not on DL at the end of 2018.  All 3 must be met for the 2019 option to vest.  That's pretty good for the Yankees. **

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