Robinson Chirinos

The veteran backstop had a strong .790 OPS in 114 games for Houston in 2019, but he was unable to find much success last season. Chirinos began the year with the Rangers and went 5-for-42 before getting traded to the Mets, with whom he fared slightly better at the plate. He ended up appearing in only 26 games and saw his walk rate plummet nearly five percentage points to 7.3%. New York declined his $6.5 million club option, so the 36-year-old returns to free agency coming off the worst offensive performance of his career. Chirinos should still be able to secure a backup job somewhere for 2021, but his days as a No. 1 catcher are likely in the rearview mirror.

Chirinos' expected batting average has been the worst figure for a regular player over the past two seasons, so kudos to him for overperforming it each of the past two seasons. Chirinos came to Houston with the reputation of being a pull-heavy flyball hitter, but ended up being more than that in 2019. He did not pull the ball as much, cut his strikeouts down a bit and upped his walk rate to a career high leading to him having a productive season at the catching position. Many catchers surprised us in 2019, but Chirinos' final line is pretty much what we expected of him moving to Houston's park and lineup. It is also the type of season he has put up in each of the past three years. He enters free agency having shown he can carry a good portion of the catching load, but a move to a more neutral park could hurt the power production. If Houston brings him back, expect more of the same.

After a string of solid seasons playing at most half the time, Chirinos was the Rangers' primary backstop last season and set a career high in games and plate appearances. The volume fueled career-best counting stats across the board. However, his skills universally waned. He fanned at a career-worst rate, with his lowest ISO since 2014 and worst average ever in a season with more than 50 games played. Chirinos' defense graded above average with the exception of controlling the running game where a whopping 89.8% (53-of-59) of runners were successful. Texas opted to decline his club option, signing Jeff Mathis instead. Chirinos latched on with the Astros, but since he'll be 35 in July, it's probably best to bet on a relatively even timeshare. With the horrid shape of the catching pool, he is in play in most two-catcher leagues. He'll be in the churning tier, where you hope he retains power with better contact, but if he doesn't, it'll be time to cut bait and move on.

Jonathan Lucroy's departure from Texas opened the door for Chirinos to play regularly behind the plate, and he ended up posting some of the better rate stats among catchers. Chirinos walked at an 11 percent clip and hit for impressive power in 309 plate appearances, resulting in a .369 wOBA and 127 wRC+. The "expected" numbers from Statcast don't paint quite as rosy a picture (.334 xwOBA, .217 xBA), but the power is very real. He had a 7.1 Brls/PA mark last year and has hit at least nine homers in four consecutive seasons despite not playing in more than 93 games in any of those years. He was worth two-plus wins above replacement in just 88 games last year (according to FanGraphs), so it seems like a near certainty that Chirinos will be the primary guy in 2018, but don't be surprised if his average falls into the .220s again with more exposure to right-handed pitching.

Chirinos was primed to be Texas' starting catcher for the 2016 campaign, but those plans were quickly put on hold after the fifth-year backstop broke his right forearm in the first week of the season. He returned to full-time action two months later, but then the Rangers traded for Jonathan Lucroy, sending Chirinos to the bench. After all of this tumult, the 32-year-old ended up mustering just a .224 batting average while striking out over a quarter of the time. However, not all was bad for him last season, as his OPS sat at a solid .797 mark thanks to nearly two-thirds of his hits going for extra bases. Given Lucroy's return to the Rangers' lineup, Chirinos will likely be relegated to backup catching duties once again, although with the departure of both Mitch Moreland and Prince Fielder, opportunities could arise at first base and designated hitter.

A shoulder injury limited Chirinos to just half a season as the Rangers' primary catcher, but he proved to be a decent source of power for the second straight season with 10 home runs in just 233 at-bats after swatting 13 in 93 games the year before. The power isn't accompanied by a good batting average, discounting the value a bit as a result, but there's some value here if you can snag him as a late-round second catcher. He's expected to be the Rangers' primary catcher again for 2016, particularly with the midseason trade of prospect Jorge Alfaro to Philadelphia in the Cole Hamels deal.

Chirinos' final numbers from 2014 were nothing to write home about, but he did finish with 13 home runs in just 93 games (338 PA), tying Shin-Soo Choo for the second on the team in homers, and a slugging percentage more than 100 points higher on the road (.467) than at Globe Life Park in Arlington (.364). His walk rate improve dramatically in the second half, jumping from 2.8% prior to the intermission to 8.7% after the All-Star break. The 30-year-old also played plus defense, putting him in the driver's seat for the starting role heading into 2015, ahead of Tomas Telis. More than likely, top prospect Jorge Alfaro will take the reins in 2016, perhaps relegating Chirinos to several years of backup duty, but Chirinos is on the radar at least in AL-only leagues.

Acquired by Texas in April, Chirinos saw occasional time in the majors as an injury replacement. During his time at Triple-A last season, Chirinos showed a good eye at the plate (12.2% walk rate) with an acceptable .257/.356/.400 line, but his success hasn't translated yet to the majors, though the sample size is limited (90 at-bats over parts of two seasons). He could be an option for Texas if either Geovany Soto or J.P. Arencibia go down.

Chirinos posted a solid, yet unspectacular double-slash line of .259/.343/.376 at Triple-A Durham before being promoted to the big club. He struggled against major league pitching, batting only .218 with one home run in 55 at-bats. With the Rays acquiring veteran Jose Molina during the offseason and Jose Lobaton ahead of him on the depth chart, Chirinos will likely start in Durham and will need an injury to see playing time with the Rays. A broken wrist in November shouldn't be an issue when he reports to camp in spring.