The Yankees have signed the premier backstop on the market.
The New York Yankees have signed catcher Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million deal, according to Jon Heyman. The deal includes provisions for a $15 million option. Also included in the deal is a full no-trade clause, meaning that McCann will likely be in the Bronx until he turns 35 years old.
Back in October, our own Joshua Ryan profiled McCann, suggesting that there was virtually no chance the Mets pursued him. This is likely correct, seeing as the Mets will be going all-in on Travis d'Arnaud this season. The other factor that scared the Mets away was certainly the money. Conservative estimates thought that McCann would be given $15 million a year, but the news that he'll be raking in $17 million a year should come as no surprise.
So what does this mean for the Mets? For one, it shows just how much the free agent market has exploded with the infusion of television money. McCann's deal—with the option—makes him the highest salaried catcher in the history of the game, only trailing Mike Piazza in total money. In a year where the Mets are unlikely to give out any major contracts, this doesn't bode well for the hope of signing middle-tier players, since this year's middle-tier will likely get similar money to what the upper-tier of the past few years.
The other way this may impact the Mets? Inflammation over talk-show radio and the blogosphere will likely be through the roof this week with the Yankees having made a big-time signing, and the Mets putting their financial resources towards Chris Young. Sandy Alderson seems very aware of the pulse of the city and the pulse of the fans, so it will be interesting to see if this hastens any offseason moves.