A new week of baseball is here, and the Detroit Tigers are still the team to beat around the Majors. A.J. Hinch's club is entering their day off boasting an MLB-leading 49-30 record following this week's series with the Tampa Bay Rays, leaving time to tell how the Tigers will continue to build momentum before next month's All-Star festivities.
Without a game to play, Monday is the perfect opportunity for Tigers fans to catch up with some of the franchise's former players. As it turns out, one ex-Detroit All-Star just landed a new opportunity that could lead to more playing time than he's experienced this season.
Former Tigers C James McCann Leaves Braves for Diamondbacks
On Sunday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the Atlanta Braves have released former Tigers catcher James McCann, allowing him to sign a minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Catcher James McCann has been released by the Braves so he can sign a major-league deal with the Diamondbacks, sources tell @TheAthletic. Dbacks starting catcher Gabriel Moreno is on IL with a right hand contusion.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 22, 2025
McCann, 35, has spent the 2025 campaign playing with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers. The former 2011 second-round pick wants to play in the MLB again, though, and he wasn't going to get that opportunity in Atlanta, instead opting to join the Diamondbacks, who placed starting C Gabriel Moreno on the injured list with a right hand injury last week.
McCann has been playing well with Gwinnett this season, leaving time to tell how quickly he can join the Diamondbacks' lineup. In 41 games (148 at-bats) with the Stripers, the Santa Barbara, CA native is slashing .297/.331/.493 with six home runs, 30 RBIs, and nine walks.
Tigers fans will remember McCann from being a second-round pick 14 years ago. He went on to play 452 games in a Detroit jersey across five seasons, tallying 40 HRs, 177 RBIs, 91 walks, and a .240/.288/.366 slash line. He left the Motor City to join the rival Chicago White Sox on a one-year deal before the 2019 campaign, and has since also played with the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles.
Interestingly enough, Tigers fans could catch a glimpse of their former catcher soon. The Diamondbacks will visit the Motor City for a three-game series beginning on Monday, July 28, leaving McCann with just over a month to prove that his bat belongs in an MLB lineup.
In the meantime, will focus on their final 20 games leading up to the 2025 MLB All-Star Break.