12:03pm: Chirinos will be out ten to 12 weeks, Grant tweets. Also, Shin-Soo Choo will miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 calf strain. Choo’s injury has led to speculation about the possible promotion of top prospect Nomar Mazara, but the Rangers have yet to make an announcement about possible roster moves.
9:18am: Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos got hit by a pitch Saturday night and has fractured his forearm, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Chirinos will be out for at least a month. The Rangers have already had problems with their catching depth this year, leading to a spring trade for Bryan Holaday of the Tigers, and Chirinos’ latest injury could have them heading to the trade market yet again.
“We’ve got a good start with Holaday here,” says manager Jeff Banister. “We are working through all of our other options right now. We’ve got limited, but multiple options.”
Chirinos hit a solid .232/.325/.438 for the Rangers last season and was off to a good start in 2016, so his loss is a relatively significant one. Chris Gimenez and Michael McKenry would normally be possibilities to replace him in the short term, as Grant notes, but Gimenez is recovering from a bacterial infection and McKenry has an abdominal strain. Brett Nicholas, who has never played in the big leagues but who split time between catcher and first base at Triple-A Round Rock last year, is healthy, but would require a 40-man roster move.
Grant thinks the Rangers could look to the trade market, possibly re-acquiring Bobby Wilson (who they shipped to Detroit in the Holaday deal and who’s currently playing for Triple-A Toledo). There’s also the possibility that Chirinos’ injury could spur the Rangers to make a bigger trade for a higher-profile talent like Jonathan Lucroy or Derek Norris, in whom they’ve had interest in the past.
Is this the year of the freak arm injury? Every year seems to have a common unlikely injury, be it broken ankles or what have you. This year seems to be shaping up as the year to break your arm. There are already, what, 6 or 7 broken arms, to varying degrees? I can think of Pollock, Miller, and Parker off the top of my head.
Andrew Susac for Jairo Beras and Brett Martin (Rangers farm).
I do that pretty quickly if I am the Rangers. Susac has upside and an option left, and even when Chirinos is healthy there is no “too many catchers” issue until next season. Of course, if Chirinos or Holaday is in the deal then options do not matter.
I bet Cole would love to have his old pal Carlos Ruiz join him in Texas
Yes, absolutely. And the Phillies should be happy to move him. They have plenty of catching depth in the upper minors.
That would be nice. I’ve got love for Chooch, but I’d love to see more of the kids up sharing time with Rupp. I think it’s unlikely though. On the plus side the Phils have pretty intimate knowledge of the Rangers’ system after last year so something could come together pretty quickly..
Ditto, I’ll always love Chooch and I do think there is value in keeping Chooch with the young pitchers on the roster. I don’t think the kids are ready to split time with Rupp yet since Knapp only has 3 AB in AAA and Alfaro is still further away in AA. But you’ve got a veteran like JP Arencibia in AAA that you can call up. I know his defensive play has always been lacking a bit, but he’d be a fine replacement for the year.
I had to stop and make sure I was on the right forum. Somebody made a smart suggestion.
Haha thank you..I’ll take that as a compliment
I do believe Chris Gimenez is like Hamels’ personal catcher or something along those lines, so not sure if that’ll work.
That’s a great call and one that not many have thought about. Would the Rangers be willing to take on all that salary to get him?
I’d imagine the Phillies would be willing to pay most of Chooch’s salary in return for a middle of the road prospect. But they may value his veteran presence on the young pitchers more than that.
Philly would literally have to eat all of Ruiz’s $8.5 million salary.
Agreed. Like I said above, I’d imagine the Phillies would be willing to pay most of Chooch’s salary in return for a middle of the road prospect. But they may value his veteran presence on the young pitchers more than that. Beats me.
Padres on line 1. With Austin Hedges in the minors they need to make some room. He had a solid spring, I want to see more of him.
Norris to the Rangers. As a Padres fan I second that.
I third that.
Norris would seem to be a good fit here but I think Hedges should get more time at AAA. He didn’t look good at the plate last year in the majors and I don’t see the Padres with much more catching depth behind him.
A total freak injury too. This just sucks, especially for Chirinos. Second year in a row he’s been named the starting catcher only to go down with an injury early in the season. Hope he recovers quickly.
Preller isnt going to trade Norris in the middle of some run production for the Pads right now….and DeNo brings untangibles that the team actually needs right now. Yea, Hedgy is the future. Even Derek knows that…but with some legit tablesetters in front of Kemp, Myers and Norris, with all of them hitting, it wouldnt be smart to move DeNo, for something if it aint “stupid”.
and truth be told, it aint DeNo they’d like to move. Its Shields or MUpJr.
Of course they want to move Shields and Muppet. No one wants them tho.
Right now is EXACTLY when you move Norris. This is a rebuilding team.
Sure he is. He will never have more value and if the pitching staff continues to suffer with him behind the plate it makes sense to move him ASAP.
Norris is only hitting .150, so it’s not like he has contributed much over the past 2 games.
What else would Preller have to include to make Norris for Gallo work?
Ross or another top prospect plus Norris for Gallo+?
I think you got that backwards. Norris alone will bring back at least 2 top prospects from the Rangers if a trade is made. Gallo won’t be part of the trade.
No he won’t. Fan graphs wrote an article that said if the Padres traded Norris by himself it would be considered a “minor” deal due to the Rangers not having to give much. Buster just had an article yesterday that said Padres Rangers were talking about Norris and Cashner for Profar and then the Rangers even pulled out of that. Only way you get one of their top prospects is if you include Ross
There have been 6 articles between the SD Union Tribune and the Dallas Morning News about this potential trade and all mentioned Brinson or another top prospect heading the deal for Norris.
The Fangraphs article by Dave Cameron on 3/18 about this potential trade said the Rangers don’t have much catching depth and while a trade of Norris for two prospects makes sense, a blockbuster trade that includes Norris and Ross or Cashner makes more sense. He also talked about a trade being headlined by Gallo and another top Rangers prospect (Cameron later identified Mazara or Brinson on MLB Network) plus several other mid-level prospects for Norris and Ross.
While I personally don’t like Norris’ game calling skills, that does not discount the fact that he is a top 5 catcher in the game today in terms of WAR. Profar hasn’t played in 2 years and any rumor that he alone would get Cashner and Norris or even Norris alone is just plain stupid. No two ways about that. Do a little research on trades of catchers with a WAR higher than 2.
Yes the article said really the only way the Padres are getting a top prospect from the Rangers is if they include Ross in the deal. Keith Law had a chat that same day and said pretty much the same thing. Ross isn’t worth a top prospect. WAR isn’t the only factor. And I guess Buster just completely made that up then. If the Rangers were going to give up one of their top prospects for Norris they’re better off just going for Lucroy who is much better.
You are showing that you didn’t even read the article since Cameron spelled out what the Padres should get for those 2. Ross is a Top 20 pitcher in the game. ERA, FIP, K/9, K%, WAR, Of that, there is no doubt or argument. Over the past two seasons, he has been better than any Rangers starter. The Padres turned down several packages for him in the offseason that were substantial. He will bring a better return than the one the Padres got for Kimbrel and that deal included two guys in the top 56 prospects in baseball plus two promising high-upside prospects. If he stays healthy Lucroy is better than Norris, but he didn’t last year. Lucroy is also more expensive than Norris and has one less year of control. He put up a 1.1 WAR while Norris put up a 2.4 WAR in 2015. Of course WAR isn’t the only factor, but its an important measuring stick and cannot be dismissed. The package that the Brewers were asking for Lucroy included two of the Rangers top 5 prospects. The one the Padres were asking for included one and a mid-range prospect. Take your pick.
I miss spoke and meant just for Norris you are not getting a top prospect. As the Fangraph article states. If you include Ross then yes you should get a top prospect.
Cameron says that it would take two prospects, a top prospect and a mid-level prospect to get Norris. not a top 10 in baseball like Gallo, but a top Rangers prospect. He also says it will take Gallo and either Mazara or Brinson plus 3 other prospects to get Norris and Ross.
Well they can ask for whatever they want but the Rangers would be crazy to give up a top prospect for just Norris. Ross would be the prize and they should look to deal him
Ross and Norris and renfroe for Mazara, Luis Ortiz or Dillon Tate, and Ariel Jurado
Ross would bring back that on his own once he is off the DL without need to include either Norris or Renfroe.
Several writers in both SD and Dallas have said about what Padres are asking for Norris alone. That is Brinson and another high upside prospect. I have heard Yrizzari, Morgan, Guzman, Taveras and several other names mentioned as the 2nd prospect.
Personally, I would prefer Tate than Brinson, but I don’t think the Rangers are willing to include him or he would have been included in some of the rumors.
I just don’t see the Rangers making a huge trade for 2 seasons of Norris. Beltre is a FA (at least for the time being) and the end of last year. They trade Gallo and they have no option. If they sign Beltre then Gallo moves over to first to take over 1st from Moreland, as Moreland is a FA at the end of the year as well.
Last August
(Continued from previous post)…
Last August
It’s 3 seasons of Norris you dolt! He’s a free agent after 2018!
Why would he want Gallo who has struck out 46% of the time in the majors and 40% of the time at AA or above with a .232 BA. I’m sure that Preller, who knows the Rangers farm system intimately, would want a couple of more well-rounded players in return for Norris.
Because he’s their highest rated prospect.
I’m sure Preller has some players in mind. Maybe Gallo is one of those players, maybe not.
He may be a high rated prospect, but his recent performance is troubling, to say the least. .232 BA with a 40% K rate from AA up is horrible and it got worse in the majors. While we have a hole in our lineup at 3B right now, I would still prefer a deal headlined by Mazara, Brinson or Tate if you are talking about top Rangers prospects. Remember that Preller worked mostly with international signings for the Rangers.
This is the time for Texas to find out what they have in Holaday. He is solid defensively, has a great arm, and improved his approach at the plate. Give him a week before deciding whether they need a backup or a starter.
I second that.
I agree. I hope they don’t go after Ross. I want to see the young outfielders in Texas before they get shipped off. Also I think if you hold off and wait on Profar his value will skyrocket. Norris is a good player but do not sell any of Brinson, Mazara, Profar or Gallo to get him.
I think they should go for Jonathan Lucroy.
He is a great catcher and moving to a new team and league I think he could still put up a great offensive season like the one he had a couple seasons ago.