MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Jan. 15
If the Texas Rangers’ new catcher looks an awful lot like their old catcher, there’s a reason for that. After playing parts of six seasons with Texas from 2013-18, Robinson Chirinos signed with the AL West-rival Houston Astros in December 2018.
After helping Houston return to the World Series, Chirinos opted to return to the Metroplex, re-signing with the Rangers on Jan. 15.
Chirinos will be 36 in June and the Venezuelan native is what he is at this point, a veteran backstop with some pop who gave the Astros some surprisingly good defensive work in 2019 after arriving with a reputation as a sub-par performer behind the dish.
Last season, he hit .238/.347/.443 in 114 games and 437 plate appearances, posting 17 homers, 58 RBI and 57 runs while also getting hit by pitch 13 times, fifth-most in the AL. That was down from his 19 plunkings in 2018. He was also seventh in the AL with a 1.7 defensive WAR.
During Houston’s postseason run, Chirinos hit .146/.222/.390 in 14 games and 45 plate appearances, with a double, three homers, four runs and four RBI mixed in with 17 strikeouts.
He homered in both Games 3 and 4 of the World Series at Washington, both wins for the Astros, and his home run in Game 4 of the ALDS at Tampa Bay accounted for Houston’s lone run in a 4-1 loss. But Chirinos was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts over the final two games of the World Series loss to the Nationals.
He signed a two-year, $12 million contract with Texas, with the second year a $6.5 million team option with a $1 million buyout.
As far as a projection, per the Depth Charts numbers at FanGraphs, Chirinos checks in at .227/.332/.418 with 14 home runs, 45 RBI and 43 runs.