Texas Rangers 2017 preseason profile: Robinson Chirinos
Over the past couple of seasons, catcher Robinson Chirinos has carved out a niche for himself as an under-the-radar player for the Texas Rangers.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos joined the Texas Rangers in 2013. They quietly purchased his contract with very little fanfare after a pretty lean time for him within the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He’d missed a full season due to a concussion and the Rangers just needed a body at catcher thanks to injuries. He’d go on to do well enough to stick around, and he remains the backup catcher heading into the 2017 season.
What Chirinos has done previously
There’s not very much that’s flashy about Chirinos. He’s a routine guy that will go out and get the job done night in and night out. He’s never had an average above .239 for a season, but he’s also never had more than 338 plate appearances for a season. His value comes on the defensive side.
Barring anything tragic happening with starting backstop Jonathan Lucroy, Chirinos will remain a backup. The role suits him well.
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Until recently, he didn’t work much with pitcher Yu Darvish. But last season, the two teamed up for the first time since a blowout on April 28, 2014. To say the least, it went well. Darvish pitched seven shutout innings to two-hit ball, striking out nine and walking one. The two hits he allowed were singles in the first and fifth innings.
He also works really well with Cole Hamels. The lefty has a 1.39 in seven games with Chirinos catching. Opposing hitters have a slash line of just .185/.254/.290 when Hamels and Chirinos team up as battery mates. But not all match-ups have been perfect for Chirinos.
Believe it or not, he doesn’t fare as well working with closer Sam Dyson. Last season, opposing hitters feasted on Dyson and Chirinos together, batting .347 with three home runs in 17 innings. For this reason, manager Jeff Banister might want to consider using Matt Bush as his closer when Chirinos catches.
With Chirinos behind the dish last season, Bush allowed a ridiculous .132/.207/.151 slash with a 2.30 ERA. Since Lucroy will need regular rest, it wouldn’t hurt to look at making Bush work the ninth when Lucroy rests.
Offensively, Chirinos does show frequent bursts of power. He’s come through with some big hits in pretty clutch situations. Chirinos has just a .230 career batting average, but he also has averaged 20 home runs per 162 games. He does strike out a little more often than we’d like to see, but he also walks pretty frequently. All this to say, he is a great role-player on this roster.
What to expect this season from Chirinos
Lucroy has the starting gig locked down hard and should remain this team’s number one guy as long as he sticks around in Arlington. Because of this, the less we see Chirinos play this season, the better. That’s not a value judgement on his performance or him as a player, but we want to see as much Lucroy as possible because he is one of the game’s elite.
But when Chirinos does play, there’s nothing to fear about. He’ll get some big home runs and doubles here and there. He drives the ball with authority but will swing and miss a little more often than Texas Rangers fans would like to see. Pitchers will love working with him, though. That’s why Chirinos will see starts with Darvish more often this season after proving they can work together.
Expect to see Chirinos start about 20 games at catcher, and several here and there at first base and DH. In the late innings, he’ll also come in and finish out the game to rest Lucroy a bit. In all, he’ll play a lot less in 2017 than he has over the past few seasons. That comes with having a starter that’s the caliber of Lucroy.
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Chirinos will finish with about 150 plate appearances and eight home runs and 21 runs batted in. He’ll have an average of about .228 but his on base will be closer to .340 and he’ll slug in the neighborhood of .435.