34 James McCann C

Tigers general manager Al Avila said McCann, who is arbitration eligible this offseason, might not return to the Tigers in 2019, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

McCann signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal last offseason to avoid arbitration, but Avila sounded less sure the team would take a similar approach this year. "I think there's more potential in there but he's getting to that point now where he's getting close to free agency and starting to make a little bit more money - so we have to make a tough decision," Avila said of McCann. The 28-year-old has had a disappointing season, and with the Tigers in rebuild mode, they could try to go younger at the catcher spot. Jake Rogers, who came over from Houston in the Justin Verlander trade, is waiting in the wings, and current backup Grayson Greiner could serve as a stopgap if Rogers isn't ready in 2019.

McCann is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Brewers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

With the Tigers simply playing out the string in a losing season, they'll give McCann a day off as Grayson Greiner slips into the lineup. McCann, who has a disappointing .220/.267/.314 slash line in 117 games this season, will likely start the season finale Sunday.

McCann is not in the lineup versus Minnesota on Thursday.

McCann will receive a standard day off after starting the first two games of this series behind the plate, during which he's gone 3-for-7 with a double and three RBI. Grayson Greiner will handle the catching duties and bat sixth.

McCann went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Twins.

McCann's two-run double capped off a four-run eighth inning for the Tigers. It's been a rough year overall for the 28-year-old catcher, as he's now slashing .214/.261/.308, which is down across the board from the .253/.318/.415 line he posted in 2017, while his home run and RBI totals are also down.

McCann is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

McCann will head to the bench after starting the last two games and is 1-for-18 in his last 19 plate appearances. Grayson Greiner will start behind the plate and bat seventh for the Tigers in the series finale.