James McCann went 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts in Monday's win over Arizona, in just his second game catching in the last week.
McCann, who has been stuck in a brutal offensive slump for most of the season, was moved over to first base on May 23 to make his first start at the position in his major or minor league career, and has played there four times in the last six games.
McCann also began to show more life at the plate after moving over to first before taking a step back on Monday when he was the starting catcher. Which begs the question: is McCann's catching demands taking a toll on his offensive performance?
Manager Luis Rojas isn't ruling it out.
"I think it did play a role, not being behind the plate and not going through everything he goes through," Rojas said during his weekly segment with Carton & Roberts. "This guy prepares unbelievably well when he's behind the plate. He studies every hitter, he communicates with the pitcher, so part of his mind is definitely preoccupied before the game. So maybe he was a lot more relaxed playing first, thinking of his hitting a lot more."
McCann made his first start at first base on May 24, when he went 1-for-4 with a home run, his first time going deep since April 14. He reached base again the following day, and two days later, back at first base, he had his best game of the season, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored, finally showing the offensive potential that helped earn him a four-year deal with the Mets this past offseason.
He also made a slick diving stop on the first ball hit to him at first base, showing some natural ability at a position he played at times in college.
"The opportunity to play first came up and we threw him out there, and that worked out really well, and he kept playing there," Rojas said.
With Pete Alonso now back from the IL, it will be interesting to see how McCann is handled in the short term. Tomas Nido batted close to .300 in May with three home runs, and will likely continue to see more at-bats as long as he keeps producing. So moving forward, McCann will have to find a way to keep his bat working while also handling duties behind the plate.
"That was one of the things we talked about," Rojas said. "When we had the conversation of Nido getting more catching time, the task for him was to work on his hitting and work closely with our hitting coaches and get back into the approach that we know he can have, and it worked."
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