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Robinson Chirinos

Mets Acquire Robinson Chirinos, Todd Frazier

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The Mets have acquired catcher Robinson Chirinos and infielder Todd Frazier in a pair of trades with the Rangers, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links).  Texas will receive a player to be named later in return for Chirinos, as per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link).  The Rangers have officially announced the deals, revealing that they will also get a player to be named later for Frazier, and some money will be sent to New York to complete the Chirinos deal — Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported that those cash considerations will total $360K.

Chirinos has been bothered by an ankle injury for much of the season, and eventually had a 10-day stint on the injured list to fully recover before returning to action last week.  It’s safe to assume that Chirinos’ dreadful .119/.224/.143 slash line over 49 PA is at least partially the result of that ankle problem, as the 36-year-old backstop has been a much more potent hitter over the last six seasons with the Rangers and Astros.  Chirinos hit .235/.331/.445 with 84 homers over 1953 plate appearances from 2014-19.

Anything close to that type of production would be a nice boon for the Mets, who have received little from Wilson Ramos at the plate this year.  With Tomas Nido on the IL, the Mets were thin on options behind the plate, and now could use both Chirinos and Ramos in something of a timeshare in September.

Chirinos could also be on the Mets’ radar for 2021, as the catcher has a $6.5MM club option on his services for next season ($1MM buyout).  It’s a fair price based on his past track record, though Chirinos will need to get on track at the plate or else the Mets might decline to exercise that option and seek a less-expensive catcher on the open market.  (Or, speculatively, maybe a much more expensive catcher if a change in ownership means the Mets have more dollars to spend on big-ticket talent like J.T. Realmuto.)

After playing for the Mets in 2018-19, Frazier makes his return to Queens after hitting .241/.322/.380 over 121 PA with Texas this season.  Frazier ended up playing almost every day with the Rangers, mostly at first base due to Danny Santana’s injury problems and Ronald Guzman spending much of the season at the team’s alternate training site.  Frazier also saw some time at third base, and he’ll provide the Mets with some depth and a right-handed bench bat at both corner infield positions.  Of note, J.D. Davis has been hampered over the last couple of games with a minor hip problem, so Frazier’s addition could be a particular depth add for third base if Davis has to miss any significant time.

Rangers Designate Rob Refsnyder

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The Rangers have designated utilityman Rob Refsnyder for assignment, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. In other moves, the Rangers recalled outfielder Leody Taveras and activated catcher Robinson Chirinos from the injured list.

The well-traveled Refsnyder, 29, joined the Rangers on a minor league contract last offseason. He has been on the Rangers’ roster throughout the season, but Refnsyder was unable to justify his spot on the team over 34 plate appearances, in which he slashed a subpar .200/.265/.233 with no home runs. It continued a run of below-average production in the majors for Refsnyder, owner of a .217/.305/.297 line in a career 457 trips to the plate.

Refsnyder has hit well in the minors, and he is a defensively versatile performer, so perhaps yet another club will take a chance on him. However, the fact that he’s out of minor league options won’t help his cause. In any event, the Rangers will have a week to trade, release or pass Refsnyder through waivers.

Rangers Select Juan Nicasio; Greg Bird Elects Free Agency

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The Rangers have announced a few roster moves. Righty Juan Nicasio is headed back to the majors after his contract was selected. The club will bid adieu to first baseman Greg Bird, who elected free agency after clearing outright waivers.

In other news, the team has placed backstop Robinson Chirinos on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained right ankle. Fellow catcher Jose Trevino was called up to fill in behind the dish.

This makes a decade’s worth of MLB seasons for Nicasio, who’ll soon turn 34. He struggled to a 4.75 ERA in 47 1/3 frames last year with the Phillies.

Bird will head back to the drawing board after only a single game in a Rangers uniform. He never even saw a chance to swing a bat with the Texas club, having landed on the injured list shortly after his promotion.

Health Notes: Quintana, Rangers, Hernandez, Santander

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Cubs southpaw Jose Quintana is making progress in his recovery from left thumb surgery, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Quintana had his stitches removed and will start tossing Thursday, according to Heyman. There’s no update on how much regular-season time Quintana will miss, but assuming he does land on the injured list, it’ll be the durable 31-year-old’s first IL stint since he entered the majors in 2012. He amassed 30-plus starts in each of the previous seven seasons.

  • Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun suffered a Grade 1 right hip strain and probably won’t be available for the team’s season opener July 24, according to general manager Jon Daniels (via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Fortunately, though, the Rangers don’t expect Calhoun to miss much time. Likewise, they’re of the belief catcher Robinson Chirinos shouldn’t be out long. Chirinos suffered a right ankle injury Monday, but Texas is optimistic he won’t need an IL stint.
  • Dodgers utility player Enrique Hernandez, whose wife is pregnant, said Wednesday he would have considered opting out of the season if not for his status as a pending free agent, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. Hernandez is not a high-risk individual, meaning he would not have collected service time had he decided to sit out the campaign. When the season does get underway, Hernandez will look to rebound after his numbers took steps backward last year from a career-best showing in 2018.
  • Speaking with Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com and other media Wednesday, Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander revealed he was late reporting to Summer Camp because of a positive COVID-19 test. Santander said he dealt with “mild” symptoms, but he’s now “healthy” and “not contagious.” That doesn’t mean Santander will have enough time to ramp up to avoid an IL stint, but he and the Orioles are hoping he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Santander received his first extensive MLB action last season and hit .261/.297/.476 (97 wRC+) with 20 home runs in 405 plate appearances, gaining an international fan club in the process.

Robinson Chirinos Questionable For Opening Day

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JULY 14: Chirinos has improved since Monday, but his status for Opening Day is up in the air, according to Woodward (via Wilson).

JULY 13: Catcher Robinson Chirinos suffered a potentially worrisome injury at Rangers Summer Camp on Monday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Chirinos departed after teammate Scott Heineman slid into his right ankle.

The images Chirinos underwent after he exited came back negative, but manager Chris Woodward acknowledged that “it’s concerning to say the least” whenever a catcher rolls his ankle. Woodward and the Rangers should know more about Chirinos’ status Tuesday.

Chirinos was one of the notable offseason acquisitions the Rangers made, as he parlayed an effective 2019 with the division-rival Astros into a one-year, $6.75MM contract. This isn’t the first Rangers go-around for the 36-year-old Chirinos, who was a member of the club from 2013-18.

Defense isn’t Chirinos’ calling card, but he has been one of the game’s steadiest offensive catchers over the past half-decade. Dating back to his 2015 breakout, Chirinos has slashed .234/.340/.452 (110 wRC+) with 71 home runs in 1,615 plate appearances. That type of production would certainly be welcome for the Rangers, whose catchers provided little to nothing at the plate last season. Primary option Jeff Mathis struggled more than anyone else in the mix, registering a .158/.209/.224 line and a stunningly poor 2 wRC+ in 244 trips to the plate.

In the event Chirinos misses time this year, Mathis could once again end up in the lineup on a regular basis. Jose Trevino also figures to make the roster, and Wilson notes that Nick Ciuffo could open 2020 as the team’s third catcher if Chirinos lands on the shelf.

Rangers Designate Kyle Bird, Jeffrey Springs

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The Rangers have designated lefties Kyle Bird and Jeffrey Springs for assignment. Their roster spots were needed to make way for the now-official signings of catcher Robinson Chirinos and infielder Todd Frazier.

Bird, 26, was hit hard in his MLB debut last year, surrendering five home runs and 15 walks in a dozen outings as he struggled with fastball command. But he has posted strong results in the upper minors, including a run of 2.86 ERA ball (with 10.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9) in his 34 2/3 innings last year at Triple-A. And he has shown a high-level spin rate that could hold appeal to other organizations.

As for the 27-year-old Springs, he turned in solid results in 2018 but took a bit step back in his sophomore campaign. Over 32 1/3 frames, he surrendered 6.40 earned runs per nine with 8.9 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9. While he hasn’t really shown it at the MLB level, Springs has at times carried eye-popping strikeout numbers in the minors. And he did record a 12.5% swinging-strike rate in 2019.

Rangers To Sign Robinson Chirinos

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8:44pm: MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that Chirinos is guaranteed $6.75MM on the deal: a $5.75MM salary in 2020 (which matches his 2019 salary), plus at least a $1MM buyout on a $6.5MM club option for the 2021 season.

8:36pm: Chirinos and the Rangers are in agreement on a one-year deal plus an option, tweets T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

8:28pm: The Rangers and free-agent catcher Robinson Chirinos have agreed to a reunion, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The new contract is pending a physical. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported earlier tonight that the two sides were “inching closer” to a deal.

Robinson Chirinos | Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Chirinos, 35, just wrapped up a .238/.347/.443 showing with the Astros, swatting 17 home runs and 22 doubles in a career-high 366 plate appearances. Even if he takes a step back, Chirinos will provide a substantial offensive upgrade to a Rangers club that saw its catchers post a disastrous .193/.241/.298 batting line as a whole in 2019.

Texas made the somewhat surprising decision last winter to buy out a seemingly reasonable $4.5MM option over Chirinos. Texas, placing a greater emphasis on defense, moved to sign Jeff Mathis to a two-year, $6.25MM deal that yielded poor results in 2019. Chirinos, meanwhile, came out ahead from a financial standpoint. Texas paid him a $1MM buyout, and he went on to sign with the Astros for a $5.75MM guarantee. Between that deal and the option buyout, he took home a tidy $2.25MM more than he’d have earned had the Rangers simply picked up his option.

Now, Texas is on the hook for $3MM of Mathis’ salary in 2020 despite the fact that he turned in the worst offensive and defensive season of his career in 2019. Through 244 plate appearances, Mathis posted a stunning .158/.209/.224 batting line (11 OPS+, 2 wRC+). And just one year after leading all MLB catchers in Defensive Runs Saved  (17) and Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average (18.4), Mathis saw those numbers crater at -1 and -2.8, respectively.

The Rangers will have to make a call on what to do with Mathis and his remaining salary, although it’s possible that he could work as a backup to Chirinos. The younger Jose Trevino has a minor league option  remaining, so he could be sent to Triple-A to begin the season, particularly considering that he struggled considerably both in the Majors (.258/.272/.383 in 126 plate appearances) and in Triple-A (.226/.263/.336 in 156 plate appearances).

Given the dismal performances of Mathis, Trevino and infielder-turned-catcher-turned-infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa in 2019, it’s hardly a surprise that the Rangers prioritized catching help this winter. And while Chirinos isn’t exactly a standout defensive backstop, he did show some improvements in 2019 with Houston. He hasn’t excelled at controlling the running game since 2014, and that trend continued last year (21 percent caught-stealing rate), but Chirinos posted improved (albeit still below-average) framing marks and was the league’s best at blocking balls in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus.

Rangers Working On Deal With Robinson Chirinos

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The Rangers and Robinson Chirinos are “inching closer” to an agreement on a reunion, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The news comes less than a week after a report that Chirinos, a client of MDR Sports Management, was nearing a decision.

Chirinos, 35, spent the 2013-18 seasons as the primary catcher for the Rangers but took a one-year, $5.75MM pact with the cross-state Astros last offseason. The Rangers, clearly seeking a defensive upgrade behind the plate, went in a different direction by signing veteran Jeff Mathis to a two-year, $6.25MM deal.

But while Chirinos improved his glovework in Houston and slashed .238/.347/.443 with 17 home runs and a career-high 22 doubles, Mathis turned in the worst season of his career at the plate, mustering just a .158/.209/.224 batting line in 244 plate appearances. Not only did Mathis struggle at the plate, though; he also struggled behind the dish in uncharacteristic fashion. As recently as 2018, no catcher in baseball rated better than Mathis in terms of Defensive Runs Saved (+17) or Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average (+18.4). In 2019, those numbers plummeted to -1 and -2.8, respectively.

Texas still owes Mathis $3MM for the upcoming season after slightly front-loading his contract. However, the Rangers have made a clear shift toward contending in 2020 and  may not feel he’s likely to rebound in his age-37 season. Given that their top in-house alternative, Jose Trevino, posted miserable numbers both in the Majors and in Triple-A, an upgrade is a logical next step toward fielding a more competitive roster now that the team has reshaped its rotation. The Rangers have already acquired Corey Kluber from the Indians and signed both Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles to multi-year contracts, giving them a trio of new starters to pair with holdovers Mike Minor and Lance Lynn.

Other potential areas of focus surely exist, as Texas could add a corner infielder, find another center field option and look to deepen its bullpen (particularly after moving Emmanuel Clase in the Kluber swap). With a projected $146MM payroll that comes in well shy of the $162MM Opening Day mark they averaged from 2016-17, plus a new stadium on the way, it stands to reason that the Rangers have ample payroll capacity to address multiple remaining needs even if they succeed in bringing Chirinos back aboard.

Following the recent agreement between the Angels and Jason Castro, Chirinos stands out as the last starting-caliber option on the free agent market. If things between him and the Rangers ultimately fail to come together, the organization will be left to rely on internal improvement, bring in another rebound candidate or explore the trade market for alternative options.

Robinson Chirinos Reportedly Nearing Decision

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Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos is “close to making a decision” on his next team, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). He has drawn wide interest to this point of the winter.

It’s still totally unclear where Chirinos will land. He has at times been connected to the Rockies, Rangers, Astros, Rays, and Pirates over the course of the winter. The Tigers have also been mentioned, though they’ve probably filled their opening. It’s certainly possible there are other suitors out there as well.

Chirinos and Jason Castro stand out among the remaining open-market options behind the dish. Both graded within the fifty best free agents entering the winter. We predicted they’d each secure two-year, $10MM deals, but robust spending and ongoing demand could potentially push those numbers higher.

Teams pursuing Chirinos will value him as a sturdy-enough presence behind the dish who can add real value offensively. He has been average or better with the bat for every one of the past five seasons, including a 122 wRC+ in 2017 and a 113 wRC+ over a career-high 437 plate appearances in 2019 with Houston. Chirinos actually trended up defensively as well, drawing better (albeit still below-average) framing grades while rating as an excellent blocker of wayward pitches.

AL News & Rumors: Yanks, Gardner, Tigers, Chirinos, ChiSox, Rangers

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Optimism continues to build regarding a potential agreement between the Yankees and free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner. The Yankees are “hopeful” they’ll finalize a contract soon, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that the two sides are “far down the line” in negotiations. With center fielder Aaron Hicks set to miss a large portion of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and the Yankees having no established in-house replacements, the need for Gardner – the most accomplished CF option in free agency – is obvious. Although he’ll turn 37 years old in 2020, Gardner remains a valuable all-around contributor and a revered clubhouse presence.

Here’s more on New York and a few other AL clubs:

  • The Yankees agreed to sign ace Gerrit Cole on Tuesday. Now they’re interested in free-agent catcher Martin Maldonado, who caught Cole 10 times last season in Houston, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. If he goes to the Yankees, Maldonado would presumably replace Austin Romine – who’s a free agent – and serve as a defensively gifted backup to slugging catcher Gary Sanchez.
  • Fellow catcher Robinson Chirinos, who was teammates with Maldonado in Houston, has drawn widespread interest on the open market. The Rockies were already just put on the board along with the Rangers, Astros, Tigers, Rays, and Pirates. You can add the Tigers to the still-growing list of teams eyeing Chirinos, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets. It’s no surprise Detroit’s in on Chirinos, as he may be the top catcher left and general manager Al Avila has made it known the team’s serious about finding an upgrade behind the plate.
  • Any catcher the Tigers sign will be managed by Ron Gardenhire next season, but his future’s murkier thereafter. Gardenhire doesn’t have a contract for 2021, and it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be signing an extension this winter. The 62-year-old said Wednesday that he won’t discuss a new deal with Avila until after next season, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. It’s possible, though, that the Tigers will choose to go in another direction by then.
  • Several teams have shown interest in free-agent outfielder Kole Calhoun, who hit the market when the Angels declined his pricey 2020 option after the season. It turns out the White Sox had been involved in the race, but they’re now out after acquiring fellow outfielder Nomar Mazara from Texas on Wednesday, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Between Mazara and Eloy Jimenez, Chicago no longer has a need for a starting-caliber corner OFer.
  • The Rangers acquired outfield prospect Steele Walker from Chicago in exchange for Mazara. One day into his tenure with the Rangers organization, Walker has garnered almost as many calls from interested teams as Mazara generated, according to general manager Jon Daniels (via Levi Weaver of The Athletic). However, Daniels added the Rangers do not intend to flip the 23-year-old Walker elsewhere.
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