Mets catcher James McCann plans to stay in shape while out injured
James McCann #33 of the New York Mets bats against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the Mets home opening game at Citi Field on April 15, 2022. Credit: Getty Images
A broken bone in his left wrist won’t stop catcher James McCann from doing as much baseball stuff as possible as regularly as possible until he returns.
On Saturday, a day after he and the Mets were stunned to learn that his left hamate was fractured and would require surgery, McCann said he still can do quite a bit, including throw, run, lift, swing with one hand and squat down and catch with his right hand.
“The plan is to stay in as close to baseball shape as possible,” he said, noting that his operation is penciled in for early this week.
He said his left wrist bothered him for “several weeks.” But he spoke up only when it worsened recently.
“It was something that I would feel in the cage or maybe during batting practice. Once the game started, adrenaline, it was there but it wasn’t prohibiting,” McCann said. “On Tuesday, I could feel it when I was catching. That’s when I said there’s something I need to voice. If I can feel it while catching a baseball, there’s something I need to say.”
A broken hamate bone is not uncommon for hitters. But in the case of McCann, the Mets had “kind of written off” that possibility as a explanation for his pain. Hamate issues typically come with a loss of grip strength, but even Saturday he passed the strength test just fine.
“The typical hamate is a guy takes one swing and he loses strength in his hand. That’s not really what happened to me. It was something that over time gradually occurred,” McCann said. “It caught me off guard. I’m surprised. Definitely wasn’t expecting to be told I have a fractured bone.”
Tomas Nido will be the top backstop in McCann’s absence, with Patrick Mazeika taking over backup duties. The Mets said this injury usually keeps players out about six weeks.
“That’s what I’ve been told: Six weeks is the average return time," he said. "I’m shooting for quicker than that.”
Bat talk
When Mark Canha homered Thursday in Washington, he did so with one of Pete Alonso’s bats. It felt so natural that he proceeded to order a few for himself from Alonso’s preferred company, the Maine-based Dove Tail Bats, to use the rest of the season.
The change started after Canha felt unsatisfied with the carry of a couple of recent fly balls that turned into outs.
“I was like, all right, I’ll use Pete’s bats for a while and see if my luck changes and see if I notice anything a little different and see what happens,” he said. “I picked it up. It felt good in my hands. I was like, all right, let’s do this.”
Alonso’s bat was the same weight as Canha’s previous model (32 ounces) and a bit longer (34 inches instead of 33 1/2). Dove Tail uses birch instead of maple, too, which Canha said is mostly a matter of preference. Birch wood generally is softer than maple, but Canha said the birch bats become denser after getting broken in during batting practice.
Emergen-Cs
The Pirates’ recent deployment of utilityman Josh VanMeter as a catcher, after losing their top two backstops midgame, raised the question: Who is the Mets’ emergency catcher?
Showalter said the Mets actually have at least three: first baseman Dominic Smith, who has held this unofficial title in years past and even owns a catcher’s mitt; third baseman Eduardo Escobar, who played one inning at catcher for the Twins in 2017; and infielder Luis Guillorme, who is down to play anywhere.
Smith, who said he plans to brush up on his catching skills during an upcoming homestand, has been lobbying Taijuan Walker to let him catch a bullpen session.
Extra bases
During their pregame activities, the Mets wore Travis Jankowski No. 16 shirseys, gifted to everyone by Escobar . . . Starling Marte entered Saturday hitting .254 with a .671 OPS. “It’s not yet the level that I think he’s gonna be, but it’s still been OK,” Showalter said . . . Third-base coach Joey Cora turned 57 on Saturday. Showalter called him “the only guy I’ve ever had that goes and practices coaching third base during BP.” . . . Showalter on the expected presence of Colombian singer Shakira at Citi Field on Saturday night: “Big night tonight.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
