HOUSTON – New Astros catcher Brian McCann met with fans and media in Houston on Thursday night for the first time since joining the team this offseason.
The 33-year old catcher expressed a lot of optimism for the upcoming season with his new team.
"The roster is filled with talent, good young talent," McCann said. "I love the rotation, I love the bullpen."
"I think it's got a good mix of everything."
McCann comes from the New York Yankees, where he spent the last three seasons playing alongside Carlos Beltran, who will join him with the Astros this season.
"What a big addition. Him and Chipper Jones are the best, smartest hitters I've ever played with," McCann said.
"What he's going to bring to the table, he's going to help out everybody else. He misses nothing and a lot of people are going to benefit from him being on the team."
He added, "We want to win a championship. The front office has put together an amazing team. From speed to power to arms to competitiveness.
"Just playing against the Houston Astros the last couple of years, when you come in here to play, you know guys are playing 100 percent. They're running everything out, they're playing hard.
"It's hard to beat the Astros and I'm glad to be a part of it."
Astros pitchers and catchers report to the team's new spring training home in West Palm Beach on February 14th with their first full squad workouts scheduled for February 18th.