Chad Jennings

cjennings@lohud.com

On the day he did what only baseball’s greatest offensive catchers had ever done, Brian McCann was actually a designated hitter.

With his home run on Sunday, McCann became only the fourth player ever to hit 20 home runs in 10 different seasons in which his primary position was behind the plate. The others: Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza.

That’s the company McCann keeps. But give Gary Sanchez nine more years, and he might be there as well. He also hit 20 home runs this season, except he did it in 53 games, and everyone knows what that means.

“Listen,” McCann said. “Gary is the starting catcher here. He’s going to be that for a long, long time. Just have to kind of see where my role fits in; see where everything fits.”

Three years into a five-year contract, McCann is not necessarily on his way out of Yankee Stadium. His name will certainly pop up in trade rumors this offseason – he was connected at the trade deadline to his hometown Braves – but McCann has a full no-trade clause, and the Yankees still have a need for a left-handed power bat in the middle of the order.

“I hope I’m back,” McCann said. “I’m not sure how it’s all going to play out, but the future is extremely bright here. … I love it here. I love everything about it. Bright future. And I hope I’m a part of it.”

McCann turns 33 in February. He won a Silver Slugger award last season and had an .809 OPS with 14 homers in the first half of this year. Defensive shifts might have wrecked his ability to hit for average, but McCann’s hit at least 20 homers nine years in a row, and his left-handed swing has played well with Yankee Stadium’s short porch.

He had a disappointing second half, but ended with a flourish in the final month. Even with Sanchez in the everyday lineup, the Yankees kept giving McCann regular playing time as a designated hitter against righties and as the personal catcher for CC Sabathia, who had a resurgent season.

“He (played) a huge role,” Sabathia said. “We sat and talked most of the time and used the cutter in different situations and talked during the games a lot, and even away from the game. He’s been a huge help for me in making this transition.”

The Yankees’ offense is also transitioning to a year without Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez or Mark Teixeira, all of whom joined McCann in the middle of the order most of this season. Five different Yankees reached 20 home runs this season, but McCann is the only one coming back who’s done it with any regularity. Sanchez never even did that in the minors.

Greg Bird, Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin have combined for a total of 20 big-league home runs.

“I’m hoping to use (McCann) in a lot of different ways,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Getting his bat into the lineup, his ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark, having him catch. This is a guy that takes a lot of pride in that. Understands how to work young pitchers, old pitchers. He understands that. So, this is a guy that’s in our plans. He might move around and do different things, but we want his bat.”

Designated hitter. Part-time catcher. Perhaps even an option at first base. McCann might not have the role he’s used to next season, but he’s not convinced he doesn’t have a place in the clubhouse.

Ultimately, the decision will be up to him. If he doesn’t want to be traded, he can keep it from happening.

“There’s a lot of variables that go into a decision,” McCann said. “So we’ll see how the winter plays out. But again, this place is special.”