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Reading List: Yankees ink Brian McCann to five-year deal

The Yankees reportedly gobbled up one of the market's most precious commodities on Saturday, signing free agent catcher Brian McCann to a five-year, $85-million deal, according to multiple sources.

A seven-time All-Star, McCann is unquestionably one of the top catchers in the game, routinely producing above-average offense from a premium defensive position.  The 29-year-old has manufactured 22.8 wins above replacement since 2008, third-most among catchers, averaging 22 home runs per season with a 119 wRC+

With Minnesota's Joe Mauer converting to first base next season, McCann now boasts the distinction of being the highest-paid catcher on the planet.

So, vaunted baseball scribes, what do we think of this deal?

Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests the acquisition underscores a resounding commitment from the Yankees to compete in the present, with little regard to the long-term future of the club:

"The Yankees refuse to punt. They didn’t last year when, in retrospect, they probably would have been better off trading Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and pretty much anything else of value to re-establish their farm system and get under a $189 million payroll in 2013.

With that makeup not changing, the Yankees reached a five-year, $85 million deal with an ideal player, Brian McCann.

For in 2014 — and probably 2015 and 2016 — his lefty pull power should provide a huge boost, especially as a catcher. But this is live for today, damn tomorrow."

Baseball Prospectus' Ben Lindbergh and Bret Sayre contend the signing of McCann bespeaks an astute understanding from the Yankees of both the present and future market for catchers:

"There’s a big gap between McCann and the next-best free agent backstop, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. And next year’s prospective catching class—a 32-year-old Russell Martin and a bunch of backups—won’t be any better. Signing McCann may have been the last chance for a team to make a major upgrade behind the plate without trading talent until the winter of 2015, when Matt Wieters and Alex Avila could become available. And none of McCann’s other suitors stood to benefit by as much as New York."

Hardball Talk's D.J. Short intimates the Yankees' reported goal of avoiding the luxury tax in 2014 may no longer be a realistic objective after handing a lucrative contract to McCann:

"The Yankees still have Robinson Cano to worry about and spots in the rotation to fill, so one wonders whether keeping their payroll $189 million next season is still a goal. Of course, the Yankees would get significant savings if A-Rod’s 211-game suspension is upheld, but we may not know the answer to that until after the holidays."

Matt Snyder of CBS Sports predicts a power surge from McCann in Yankee Stadium, and could imagine the 29-year-old converting to first base in the latter stages of his deal:

"Worth mention here is McCann's a left-handed hitter and Yankee Stadium is very homer-friendly to lefties Turner Field suppresses homers a bit, too, so McCann's power should see a slight uptick with the move -- even if it's somewhat mitigated by moving to the vaunted AL East.

The Yankees have a highly-touted catching prospect in Gary Sanchez, though the 20 year old is still a few years away and it's possible McCann could move to designated hitter or first base (Mark Teixeira has three years left on his deal) in the last several years of this contract."

Finally, David Waldstein of the New York Times suggests McCann injects some much-needed stability into a Yankees lineup replete with question marks.

"McCann becomes the only certainty for the Yankees on the diamond: Alex Rodriguez is appealing a 211-game suspension; the 39-year-old Derek Jeter (ankle) and Mark Teixeira (wrist) are coming off serious injuries that cut short their seasons; and Robinson Cano is testing the free-agent market."

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