Signed by the New York Yankees for $85 million, Brian McCann has become the highest paid catcher in the history of baseball.
McCann agreed to terms on a five-year deal with a vesting option for a sixth year that could bring it to $100 million, according to sources referred to in U.S. media.
A seven-time All-Star, the 29-year-old has played his entire career with the Atlanta Braves and has hit 20 or more home runs in all but one of his eight full seasons with the Braves, including last season, when he missed the first month after an off-season shoulder surgery.
The Braves had made a $14.1 million qualifying offer to McCann, and by signing him the Yankees will have to surrender a compensatory pick in next year’s draft to Atlanta.
“A left-handed hitter with pull power, McCann should be a perfect fit for Yankee Stadium, with its short right-field fence,” David Waldstein comments on the deal in The New York Times: “He is also considered a team leader with excellent credentials for handling and sticking up for his pitchers.”
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.