BRONX, N.Y. — The New York Yankees have reportedly inked catcher Robinson Chirinos to a minor-league contract, according to The Athletic. Last season, Chirinos, 36, split time between the Texas Rangers and New York Mets. The veteran backstop sported a 36 OPS+ in 26 games. Not great.
Before an unceremonious 2020, Chirinos did pop double-digit home runs in five of his nine big league campaigns.
While with the Houston Astros in 2019, Chirinos “endeared” himself to New York fans with some dubious comments during the ALCS.
Robinson Chirinos on Yankee fans leaving early: “If I was a Yankees player I’d kind of feel disappointed in the 9th inning when the stadium was kind of empty. That team won over a hundred games.Just says a lot about the fans.For us we have to continue doing what we’ve been doing” pic.twitter.com/58Rwxgbg75
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) October 18, 2019
From another angle, Chirinos did catch Gerrit Cole in 16 contests in 2019. In 102.1 innings pitched with Chirinos, Cole posted a 2.46 ERA with 152 K’s and 25 walks, holding opposing batters to a .189 batting average. Not quite as dominant as Cole’s pairing that season with Martin Maldonado but still solid.
If nothing else perhaps he’ll provide the Yankees with some veteran depth pop.
