Houston Astros acquire Brian McCann from New York Yankees

The Houston Astros have acquired catcher Brian McCann from the New York Yankees in exchange for pitchers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman, it has been announced. According to the national writers on Twitter, the Yankees are paying $5.5 million of McCann’s salary in 2017 and 2018, which leaves the Astros paying $11.5 million per year.

McCann, who turns 33 in February, just finished the third year of a 5 year, $85 million deal he signed prior to the 2014 season. McCann put up a .242/.335/.413 slash line in 2016, and has a .235/.313/.418 slash line in his three years in New York.

The emergence of Gary Sanchez late last year made McCann expendable for the Yankees, and the Astros, who need a catcher with the departure of Jason Castro, are an obvious fit. It remains to be seen how much McCann has left in the tank — he’s put up just 5.5 bWAR in his three years with the Yankees, and catchers generally don’t age real well.

Meanwhile, this could provide an interesting dynamic for the burgeoning Astros/Rangers rivalry. McCann is one who has a history of enforcing the unwritten rules, and got into an altercation a few years back with Carlos Gomez over...well, you can read about it here.

The potential for a Rougned Odor/Brian McCann brouhaha in 2017, especially if the Rangers and Astros are in a race again, is something we’ll want to watch for...