New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles Complete Trade

The New York Mets have completed a trade with the Baltimore Orioles that sent catcher James McCann to the O's recently, receiving a 20-year-old outfielder in Rookie Ball as the player to be named later.

The Mets acquired OF Luis De La Cruz from the Orioles to complete the James McCann trade.

De La Cruz got a $130K bonus in 2019 class but the pandemic delayed his debut to 2021. Has spent the last two seasons in the Dominican Summer League.

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— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) January 13, 2023

Luis De La Cruz has spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He greatly improved in 2022, batting .291 with a .745 OPS in 33 games. He has good plate discipline, and knows how to get on base, drawing almost as many walks as strikeouts in his two seasons. He has a .405 on-base percentage in 60 games in the Orioles system.

McCann, 32, still had two years left on the four-year, $40M contract that he signed with the Mets prior to the 2021 season. Reports have New York paying $19M of the $24M still owed for the Orioles new backup catcher. 

McCann batted .220 in 603 plate appearances over two years in Queens, with a .610 OPS. The Mets have three other catchers on the roster now, so McCann was expendable. Omar Narvaez joins Tomas Nido and top prosect Francisco Alvarez as backstop options. 

Photo: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports