McCann, drawing his first start since Sept. 15, went 1-for-3 in a loss to the Mariners on Friday.
McCann had been limited to a trio of pinch-hit appearances since his last turn in the starting nine nearly two weeks prior. The rookie backstop's bat faded over the latter portion of the season after a hot start to his big-league career, but his nine extra-base hits, 15 RBI, 15 walks, 13 runs, .241 batting average and .700 OPS give him a foundation to build on going into his first offseason as a major-league player.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Lifts homer Wednesday
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a hit-by-pitch in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Astros.
McCann went yard for the first time since July 6, though he's seen minimal playing time as the backup catcher to Shea Langeliers. For the season, McCann owns a .250/.333/.398 slash line, five homers, 15 RBI and 13 runs scored over 144 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Records timely knock Saturday
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-2 with an RBI single in a loss to the Tigers on Saturday.
McCann drew one of his infrequent starts behind the plate and drove home the Athletics' only run with a fifth-inning single that plated Zack Gelof. The rookie had last accounted for an RBI on July 28, and he's sporting a .248 average and .705 OPS over his modest 140 plate appearances this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Draws rare start Thursday
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-5 in a loss to the Reds on Thursday.
Shea Langeliers got a rare day off Thursday, affording McCann his first start since Aug. 21. The rookie backstop collected his first hit since July 28, but he also struck out three times. McCann has a .254/.338/.390 slash line across 133 plate appearances this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Checking into starting nine Sunday
Rotowire
McCann will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.
With top backstop Shea Langeliers getting a breather for the series finale, McCann will step in behind the dish Sunday, catching for starting pitcher JP Sears. McCann has appeared in four games since the All-Star break, going 2-for-13 with seven strikeouts.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Belts pinch-hit homer Saturday
Rotowire
McCann entered Saturday's win over the Orioles as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and hit a two-run home run in his one plate appearance.
McCann's blast ironically came off namesake and fellow backstop James McCann, who was in as a reliever at that point with the Orioles down 17-6. McCann's homer plated Max Schuemann with the final runs of the night for the Athletics and served as his first time leaving the yard since May 7, a span of 21 games for the occasional fill-in catcher. The rookie has been impressive at the plate overall during his first taste of big-league action this season, with Saturday's production pushing his slash line to a stellar .291/.390/.465 across 100 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: On base three times Wednesday
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-2 with two walks in a loss to the Angels on Wednesday.
McCann made one of his relatively infrequent appearances in the starting nine and once again contributed, qualifying as the only Athletics batter to reach safely on three occasions. However, he was part of an unfortunate sequence in the second inning, when he stumbled and failed to touch home plate when attempting to score and was subsequently called out due to Armando Alvarez making contact with him in an attempt to steer McCann back to the plate. That gaffe notwithstanding, the rookie backstop has now reached safely in four consecutive games dating back to June 16, and he sports a .278 average and .804 OPS across 91 plate appearances (30 games) this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Timely knock in rare start
Rotowire
McCann went 1-for-4 with an RBI single during a loss to the Twins in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday.
The rookie backstop drew a rare start and was able to tack on the final run of the matinee game for the Athletics with his ninth-inning single. McCann boasts an impressive .278/.358/.444 slash line across his first 81 career plate appearances, but Shea Langeliers has been an ironman behind the dish and is garnering the bulk of playing time at McCann's expense.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Gets aboard five times
Rotowire
McCann went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two walks and one run scored in Thursday's 10-9 extra-innings win over the Rockies.
McCann had gone just 3-for-18 over his previous eight contests before a breakout game Thursday. The backup catcher has generally played well in 2024, posting a .340/.431/.580 slash line over 58 plate appearances. He's added three home runs, three doubles, eight RBI and nine runs scored, but the 26-year-old remains firmly behind Shea Langeliers on the depth chart.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Delivers as pinch hitter Saturday
Rotowire
McCann entered Saturday's loss to the Royals as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and singled in his only plate appearance.
McCann continues to see occasional starts behind the dish, but he'd gone a combined 1-for-10 with six strikeouts in the most recent three prior to Saturday's pinch-hit appearance. The rookie will continue to spell Shea Langeliers on occasion, and despite the recent skid, he still carries a .333 average and .975 OPS over 47 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
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.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Swats first career home run
Rotowire
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.
... See More... See Less
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.
... See More... See Less
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.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Kyle McCann: Contract selected by Oakland
Rotowire
The Athletics selected McCann's contract from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.
McCann won the backup catcher job as the Athletics elected to send Tyler Soderstrom to Las Vegas. McCann likely won't play much behind Shea Langeliers.
... See More... See Less
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."
