Robinson Chirinos

Position: C
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: June 5, 1984 (35)

Traditional Stats: 114 G, 437 PA, .238/.347/.443, 22 2B, 17 HR, 58 RBI
Advanced Stats: 2.3 fWAR, 113 wRC+, 3.0 FRAA

Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos had a career best season at age 35 for the Houston Astros during the 2019 season. His 2.3 fWAR and 2.6 BWARP were both career highs, as were his 40 extra base hits and 3.0 fielding runs above average.

The Venezuelan native was signed by the Cubs back in 2000 when he was 16. He started his pro career as an infielder that played shortstop, third base, and second base. He would later play first base as well, but wouldn’t catch in a game until 2008.

The right-handed hitter spent 11 seasons in the Cubs minor league system. He was traded with Hak-Ju Lee, Chris Archer, Sam Fuld, and Brandon Guyer to the Rays for Matt Garza, Fernando Perez, and Zac Rosscup in 2011.

Chirinos would make his Major League debut in 2011 with the Rays, he had just a .592 OPS in 20 games. He was close to finally getting his chance when the Rangers purchased Chirinos from the Cubs on April 7, 2013. They played him in 13 big league games that year.

Robinson would make the Rangers’ 2014 Opening Day roster and never look back. He hit .239/.290/.415 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs that year while being a solid defender (0.3 FRAA) behind the plate.

His offense was even better in 2015 (106 wRC+), but his defense slipped to -0.5 FRAA and his fWAR from 1.6 in 2014 to 0.8. The defense dipped even more in 2016, down to -5.2 FRAA in 58 games, though his offense remained above average.

In 2017, Chirinos had his breakout offseason season with a career-high 122 wRC+ and his 1.9 fWAR was a career-best as well. That big season for the Rangers, earned him the full-time catching role in 2018, when he played a career-high with 113 games played.

Unfortunately for Chirinos, his production took a dip with strikeouts jumping to to 32.9%, wRC+ to the lowest in four seasons at 102, and he was one of the worst defensive catchers in baseball with -10.8 FRAA. The down year at 34, led the Rangers to declining his $4.5 million option for the 2019 season.

The Astros scooped up Chirinos on a one-year, $5.75 million deal that paid off great for them. While he did have the best defensive season of his career (3.0 FRAA), that number was carried by being the second best (5.8 runs) in baseball at blocking balls. His framing runs was -3.5 and throwing runs were -0.5 runs.

Contract

Age (35) will certainly limit what Chirinos gets on the open market despite his productive 2019 season. The fall off on the free agent market after him and Jason Castro, could help his cause though. MLB Trade Rumors predicted that he would get two years, $10 million, that’s not far off from the two-years, $7 million that Martin Maldonado just received from the Astros.

Recommendation

One of the clear ways for the Mets to upgrade through free agency right now is upgrading on back-up catcher Tomas Nido. Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said earlier this offseason that a veteran defensive-minded catcher could be on the teams wishlist. The Mets also reportedly showed interest already and numerous say they could still be in the market.

While I would prefer the left-handed hitting Castro (better defensive track record), Chirinos would certainly be better back-up option overall than Nido. Problem with that is, then with Chirinos and Ramos, you would have two poor framers and below average in terms of the running game. Also have to imagine that Chirinos is looking for more playing time (and likely money) then the Mets are willing to offer him.

Therefore, I think it’s unlikely we see Chirinos sign the Mets this offseason.