In what has been a great day to be a veteran catcher, Robinson Chirinos has signed a one-year, $900K contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Chirinos, 37, joins Kurt Suzuki as the two experienced backstops to come off the board today.
Robinson Chirinos has a deal with Orioles 900K plus 75K incentives. 100K if traded. @MarlyRiveraESPN on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 13, 2022
Chirinos, a veteran of 10 big league seasons, will be joining his sixth different major league organization after spending time in the past with the Rays, Rangers, Astros, Mets and Cubs.
In 2021, Chirinos spent his time in a Chicago Cubs uniform, seeing his highest amount of playing time since 2019 with the Astros, appearing in 45 games in which he hit five home runs. At this point in his career he projects as more of a backup catcher but with a lack of (MLB-ready) options on the roster, he will most likely be the Orioles’ starting backstop at least to begin the season.
With Jacob Nottingham being the only catcher on the 40-man aside from Chirinos, he will most likely back up the 37-year-old while getting playing time at first base as well. Anthony Bemboom and Brett Cumberland remain in Triple-A as depth along with uber-prospect Adley Rutschman, who is going to get his first crack in the big leagues in 2022.
With 647 games at the major league level under his belt, Chirinos has hit 91 home runs and driven in 199 over the course of his career. An interesting note on the veteran catcher is that he didn’t even make his big league debut until he was 27 years of age. To have had the career he’s had after debuting so late is a true testament to how valuable he has been for every team he’s been a part of.
The Baltimore Orioles have finally made a move to shore up the catching position, signing veteran backstop Robinson Chirinos to a low-cost one-year contract. He will be a valuable asset for the club as they look to ease Adley Rutschman into big league playing time.