{"id":258250,"date":"2021-05-25T07:26:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T04:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mets-james-mccann-passes-test-in-move-to-first-base\/"},"modified":"2021-05-25T07:26:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T04:26:19","slug":"mets-james-mccann-passes-test-in-move-to-first-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mets-james-mccann-passes-test-in-move-to-first-base\/","title":{"rendered":"#Mets’ James McCann passes test in move to first base"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Mets’ James McCann passes test in move to first base<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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If it were possible for the Mets lineup to get any weirder, that occurred Monday when James McCann was handed an even larger glove.<\/p>\n

The Mets catcher started at first base for his initial professional app<\/a>earance at the position, allowing manager Luis Rojas to place an additional experienced righty bat in the lineup. McCann batted third and homered in the Mets\u2019 3-2 loss to the Rockies at Citi Field.<\/p>\n

Pete Alonso\u2019s placement on the injured list Friday with a sprained right hand had meant a combination of Dominic Smith and Brandon Drury playing the position for the weekend series<\/a> in Miami, during which Rojas said team brass discussed the idea with McCann, who had last played first base in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a position I am going to say [McCann] is familiar with, even though he hasn\u2019t played there professionally, but he\u2019s familiar with the position,\u201d Rojas said before the game<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s worked there before, he\u2019s looked good to us, so I don\u2019t think we are going to be compromised with him playing first from a defensive standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCann was tested early, diving to his right in the second inning to stop Josh Fuentes\u2019 grounder before throwing to David Peterson covering the bag.<\/p>\n

\"James
James McCann makes a throw from his knees at first base on Monday.<\/figcaption>
Charles Wenzelberg\/New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt definitely loosened me up a little bit, getting that first one out of the way,\u201d McCann said. \u201cI joked with the guys, I said, \u2018I haven\u2019t felt these kind of jitters in a while, standing out there playing defense.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Options all around were limited for the Mets, with Drury, Wilfredo Tovar, Khalil Lee and Patrick Mazeika as the bench options for a team that has 16 players on the IL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel pretty good and have the bat presence there [with McCann], which is something we need right now,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cWe need presences in the lineup. We\u2019re facing a lefty, and McCann is a guy we think with some other guys in there we can manufacture some runs.\u201d<\/p>\n