James McCann Opens Up on Time With Diamondbacks

Signing veteran catcher James McCann might have been one of the most beneficial under-the-radar moves made by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the brutal 2025 season. His impact was notable and talked about by players and coaches at length during the year.

After the Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention by the San Diego Padres, McCann caught up with Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers about his time in Arizona.

Diamondbacks' James McCann on His Time with Arizona

McCann had been sitting in the Braves' minor league system before signing with Arizona. He quickly came up to the majors and became a regular player, even beginning to wrest some of the starting catching duties away from Gabriel Moreno.

More: Is James McCann Becoming D-backs’ Starting Catcher?

McCann said he had felt as if he was capable of contributing at a major league level, and it was gratifying to be able to produce results with Arizona.

"From a personal standpoint, it's definitely something that I'm proud of, and that's why I took a minor league deal, because I knew I still had something left to give the game, and that's still how I feel," McCann said.

"I still have plenty in the tank, plenty to give to the game, and one of the things that I was able to make an immediate impact here on is just my experience in helping pitchers understand how to sequence pitches, and how to help them understand how their stuff plays at this level, how it plays together."

That was one of the reasons why manager Torey Lovullo so often paired McCann with young (or struggling) pitchers. McCann's experience offered him a unique advantage.

McCann also said that veteran experience allowed him to have an impact on the relatively young D-backs roster.

He cited "not getting too high and not getting too low," and "understanding the nuances of a major league baseball season."

He'll be a free agent, but it seems likely the D-backs would appreciate his services returning in 2026. McCann would not speak specifically on his free agency plans, but spoke lovingly of his time with Arizona — noting the positive culture.

"I loved my time here," he said.

"I've told people how much fun this team is. It's a really good group of guys, a very talented group of guys, and you see despite all the injuries, despite the amount of different players that had to step up in different roles... we were in the hunt until the last weekend of the season.

"Obviously, it's not the ending we wanted, but I think this is a great group of not just players in the clubhouse, but also support staff, coaching staff. I think this organization has done a tremendous job of building a culture here that players enjoy being a part of," McCann said.

Arizona Diamondbacks Latest News