Houston Astros to sign Robinson Chirinos

The former Texas Rangers backstop has reportedly inked a deal with the Houston Astros, agreeing to stay in the American League West.

According to Mark Berman of Fox 26, free-agent catcher Robinson Chirinos has signed a one-year contract with the Houston Astros, a deal that, as Berman notes, is likely to be announced once Chirinos has his physical in Houston.

Previously, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported that the Astros and Chirinos were close, but didn’t offer any specific terms of the deal. At this point, it still remains unknown as to just how much the deal is worth. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram also confirmed the reports.

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Chirinos, 34, appears to be a decent signing for the Astros, who are losing Martin Maldonado to free agency this winter. In 113 games for the Texas Rangers in 2018, he slashed .222/.338/.419 with 18 home runs, 65 RBI, 15 doubles and 48 runs scored.

Previously with the Rangers, he appeared in 88, 57, 78, 93, and 13 games in each of the last five seasons, combining for a career major league slash of .233/.324/.438. Additionally, his 18 home runs last season were good enough for seventh among major league catchers, his 65 RBI good enough for seventh as well.

While not the most dependable backstop defensively, he’s been relatively consistent at the plate. With the Astros aiming to have him platoon with youngster Max Stassi, this deal, which is of the one-year variety, is pretty low risk for a Houston Astros team that has very little to improve on heading into 2019.

For his career, he’s also added 75 doubles, three triples, 204 total RBI, three stolen bases and has a respectable .761 career OPS. He’s also logged the occasional inning at first base and third base, though he has mostly appeared as a catcher.

While the exact details of the pact have yet to be revealed, it’ll surely be a low-risk, high potential reward transaction for the Astros, who could potentially be one of the busier clubs heading into the second half of December.