Athletics' Kyle McCann: Impressive pop in Tuesday's loss
Rotowire
McCann went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run, a walk and two additional runs in a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday.
The reserve backstop continues to parlay his occasional opportunities into standout offensive production, with Tuesday's impressive day pushing his average and OPS to .393 and 1.235, respectively, across 33 plate appearances. While the small-sample caveat certainly applies, it's difficult to dismiss how quickly McCann seems to have acclimated to big-league arms after displaying impressive bat skills at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels the last two seasons. Shea Langeliers remains the top backstop at the moment and certainly has the edge in terms of knowledge of the pitching staff, but given the expansive gulf in offensive performance between the two thus far, it's conceivable McCann could progressively carve out more consistent opportunities.
McCann went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's 7-6 win over the Orioles.
McCann's second career dinger came off Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth and served as the game-winner. The backup catcher has not seen many opportunities this season, accumulating only 16 at-bats thus far, but has collected two hits and a homer in two of his last three starts.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Swats first career home run
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McCann went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Cardinals.
McCann plated the only two runs of the evening for the Athletics. He gave them an early lead with an RBI single in the second and then put them back in front in the fifth with a blast to right against Lance Lynn. McCann has appeared in just five games so far this season as the team's backup catcher and all three of his hits have come in his last six at-bats.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: On base twice in debut
Rotowire
McCann started at catcher in his major-league debut Saturday against the Guardians, going 0-for-2 with a bases-loaded walk, another base on balls and a run in the 12-3 loss.
McCann's patience with the bases loaded in the third inning paid off, as his free pass brought home Zack Gelof to snap a 2-2 tie and give Oakland what would be its final run of the day. The rookie backstop will need to curb his bloated strikeout rate significantly to have long-term success against big-league arms, but he did combine those poor contact rates in the minors with double-digit walk rates in all but his 2023 stint at Triple-A Las Vegas (9.8 percent). McCann is slated to spell Shea Langeliers behind the dish on occasion for the foreseeable future after beating out Carlos Perez for the No. 2 job this spring.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Will make MLB debut Saturday
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat seventh in Saturday's game against the Guardians.
McCann won the No. 2 catcher job behind Shea Langeliers after the Athletics optioned Tyler Soderstrom to Triple-A Las Vegas. While McCann struggled in spring training, he finished the 2023 season slashing .270/.351/.474 with 17 home runs and 57 RBI over 388 plate appearances in Triple-A. He'll get his first taste of major-league action against Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee.
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Athletics' Kyle McCann: Has chance to win No. 2 job
Rotowire
McCann has an opportunity secure the No. 2 catcher job behind Shea Langeliers in the wake of Tyler Soderstrom's demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
McCann was a fourth-round pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, and he's steadily ascended in the organizational ranks since that point. The 26-year-old spent the entirety of the 2023 season with Las Vegas, producing a solid .270/.351/.474 slash line with 35 extra-base hits and 57 RBI across 97 games. McCann hasn't been anywhere near as successful this spring -- he sports a .211 average across 23 Cactus League plate appearances -- but manager Mark Kotsay implies McCann remains in contention with veteran Carlos Perez for the No. 2 job and has complimented McCann for "continuing to grow and make improvements to challenge for that opportunity."
