Orioles' James McCann: Starting at catcher in Game 1
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat ninth Tuesday in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series versus the Royals, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
With left-hander Cole Ragans toeing the slab for the Royals, the Orioles are going with McCann behind the plate and Adley Rutschman at designated hitter in Game 1. McCann closed out the regular season on a high note with a 1.087 OPS and four home runs in September.
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Orioles' James McCann: Blasts three-run homer
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McCann went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Sunday against the Twins.
McCann's three-run shot provided the winning runs for the Orioles and gave him eight home runs on the year. Over his final 14 games spanning 49 at-bats, McCann contributed a .265 batting average with five homers and 15 RBI. He'll continue to play a key role off the bench for the Orioles as they begin their postseason push Tuesday at home against the Royals.
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Orioles' James McCann: Goes deep twice
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McCann went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI in Friday's win against the Tigers.
McCann knocked a two-run shot in the fourth inning and then capped off Baltimore's seven-run night with a solo shot in the sixth. He's hit four home runs over his last 11 appearances dating back to Aug. 20. The veteran catcher owns a .645 OPS with 16 extra-base hits through 221 plate appearances this season.
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Orioles' James McCann: Goes deep in win
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McCann went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's win against the Rockies.
McCann accounted for Baltimore's only two extra-base hits during the 6-1 victory. He ripped a two-run homer in the fourth inning followed by a double in the ninth. It was his fifth home run of the year and second in his last five appearances. McCann is slashing .223/.270/.348 with 13 extra-base hits and 22 RBI through 200 plate appearances.
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Orioles' James McCann: Smacks fourth home run
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McCann went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and three total RBI in Tuesday's 9-5 win over the Mets.
McCann made his presence felt against his former team, extending Baltimore's lead to 3-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second inning before blasting a two-run homer off Jose Quintana in the fourth. The 34-year-old McCann has been solid at the plate recently, going 10-for-33 (.303) over his last 11 games. Overall, he's slashing .226/.277/.339 through 184 plate appearances this year with four homers, 19 RBI and 23 runs scored while backing up Adley Rutschman behind the plate.
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Orioles' James McCann: Undergoes nasal surgery
Rotowire
McCann underwent a nasal reduction realignment procedure Monday, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
McCann took a fastball off the nose July 29 versus the Blue Jays, suffering multiple nose fractures. The catcher has remained a part of the active roster and is with the team on their road trip in Toronto.
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Orioles' James McCann: Catching in Wednesday's game
Rotowire
McCann (nose) will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Despite suffering multiple nasal fractures when he was hit in the face by a fastball while he was batting in the first inning of Game 1 of Monday's doubeheader with Toronto, McCann was able to stay in the game. After re-evaluating McCann on Tuesday, the Orioles made him available off the bench for their eventual 6-2 win, and he'll now draw back into the lineup for the series finale while top backstop Adley Rutschman gets a day off. According to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com, McCann took batting practice Wednesday while wearing a protective mask, but it doesn't sound like it'll be anything that inhibits his vision at the plate or while catching.
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Orioles' James McCann: Cleared to play despite fractures
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McCann has been diagnosed with multiple nose fractures but has been cleared to play, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
McCann remarkably stayed in Monday's game against the Blue Jays after being struck in the face by a Yariel Rodriguez pitch. He is undoubtedly very sore and the Orioles would probably prefer to avoid using him, if possible, but he'll be available off the bench Tuesday against Toronto.
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Orioles' James McCann: Likely has broken nose
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Manager Brandon Hyde said that McCann likely sustained a broken nose in the Orioles' 11-5 win over the Blue Jays in the first game of Monday's doubleheader, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
McCann was hit in the face by a fastball from Yariel Rodriguez in the bottom of the first inning. Despite bleeding profusely, McCann took his base and stayed in for the duration of the game, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored. He will go for a CT scan to confirm the diagnosis, and the 34-year-old backstop could end landing on the injured list if he did in fact suffer a fracture.
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Orioles' James McCann: Filling in for resting Rutschman
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against the Marlins.
McCann will get the nod behind the plate for the series finale in Miami while top backstop Adley Rutschman receives a breather for the day game after a night game. Over 142 plate appearances on the season, McCann has provided a .211/.254/.323 slash line with three home runs, 17 runs, 13 RBI and one stolen base. Even if Rutschman were to miss extended time with an injury, McCann would likely be a low-end fantasy option at catcher while occupying a spot at the bottom of the order.
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Orioles' James McCann: Smacks homer in loss
Rotowire
McCann went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 10-8 loss to the Guardians.
McCann was able to generate a run in three of his four at-bats. He had an RBI single in the second inning, a solo shot in the fourth and an RBI groundout in the seventh. The veteran catcher is 7-for-33 (.212) over 10 games in June, and he continues to see sparse playing time as the backup to Adley Rutschman. For the year, McCann has a .202/.227/.325 slash line with three homers, 13 RBI, 15 runs scored, one stolen base and five doubles over 119 plate appearances.
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Orioles' James McCann: Absent from lineup Sunday
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McCann is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against Houston.
McCann will sit for a second straight game Sunday after going 0-for-3 with one walk and two strikeouts in Friday's 14-11 loss. Adley Rutschman will serve behind home plate Sunday and bat in the leadoff spot against Astros southpaw Framber Valdez.
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Orioles' James McCann: Homer, steal in win
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McCann went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk, a stolen base and two total runs scored in Monday's 5-2 win over the Rays.
This was McCann's third multi-hit effort of the season and his first since April 16. He also picked up his second homer and first steal of the campaign. McCann's playing time remains limited while backing up star catcher Adley Rutschman, who received a day off Monday. McCann is at a .211/.224/.326 slash line through 98 plate appearances.
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Orioles' James McCann: Draws start Sunday
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the White Sox.
With Adley Rutschman getting a day off from catching duties and serving as the Orioles' designated hitter, McCann will settle in behind the plate. McCann has underwhelmed in his limited opportunities this season as the Orioles' No. 2 backstop, batting .211 with one home run over 76 plate appearances.
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Orioles' James McCann: Hits first homer
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-2 victory versus the Angels.
With Adley Rutschman resting his legs as the Orioles' DH, McCann got a start behind the plate and accounted for the team's first run with a second-inning solo blast. The veteran backstop has notched at least one hit in seven of the 10 games in which he's appeared, compiling a .265/.265/.412 slash line, five runs and five RBI. That works just fine for a backup catcher, but McCann doesn't figure to be a viable option in most fantasy formats with Rutschman staked to the lead role behind the plate for the Orioles for the foreseeable future.
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Orioles' James McCann: Returns to bench role
Rotowire
McCann is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
McCann had made consecutive starts behind the plate to begin the series with Milwaukee, but he'll head back to the bench for Sunday's finale while Adley Rutschman draws the start at catcher. Rutschman received the day off Friday and served as a designated hitter Saturday, but he's still expected to see the overwhelming majority of the starts at catcher in 2024.
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Orioles' James McCann: In line for backup duties
Rotowire
McCann is 2-for-14 over his first five Grapefruit League games.
The Orioles look set to run it back with Adley Rutschman and McCann as their big-league catchers. McCann got into 70 games last season, hitting .222 with six home runs, 26 RBI, 25 runs scored and three stolen bases over 226 plate appearances. Playing behind a young star like Rutschman means McCann is unlikely to see significant work aside from Rutschman's off days behind the dish and McCann's occasional DH duty.
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Orioles' James McCann: Added to lineup Friday
Rotowire
McCann was added to the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Adley Rutschman has been scratched due to an illness, so McCann will now start behind the plate and bat eighth versus the Red Sox and right-hander Nick Pivetta. Ryan O'Hearn is serving as the Orioles' designated hitter.
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Orioles' James McCann: Goes deep twice in slugfest
Rotowire
McCann went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 13-12 victory over the Red Sox.
McCann busted out of his 1-for-19 slump in a big way, blasting a two-run homer in the fourth inning and adding a solo shot in the sixth. Since the All-Star break, the 33-year-old catcher has been in the lineup nearly every other day, batting .267 with three home runs, 18 RBI, 14 runs, and two steals in 28 second-half games (86 at-bats).
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Orioles' James McCann: Back in lineup Friday
Rotowire
McCann (hand) is back in the lineup Friday against the Rockies.
McCann will start at catcher and bat sixth after missing a couple of games due to a bruised left hand. He was slashing .464/.515/.714 through 33 plate appearances in August prior to that minor injury and has a favorable matchup Friday versus Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland.
