Earlier this month the Rangers let catcher Robinson Chirinos go, and then signed veteran catcher Jeff Mathis to a two year, $6.25 million contract. As a fan of Chirinos, I was sad to see him go. But baseball is a business above all else. The Rangers believe it was a good business move.
Mathis has never been known for his offensive prowess, he has a career batting average of .198. Mathis is hardly an upgrade offensively from Chirinos. The Rangers brought him in for his defense. Mathis ranked first in all of baseball in getting borderline pitches called for strikes. He also ranked sixth among 117 catcher in framing runs last season. He also threw out 39.7% of base stealers.
His availability is another thing that will be in question. In 2018 while with the Diamondbacks, he only started 61 games. He is 35 years old, and he will be 36 before the 2019 season starts. The Rangers have two young catching prospects in Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino. Kiner-Falefa spent most of the season in the bigs in 2018, Trevino did not. There are also other free agents still on the market, including Brian McCann and Martin Maldonado.
I believe that the Rangers were not happy with the defense of Chirinos in 2018 (only caught six base stealers out of fifty-nine attempts) and didn’t want to pay $4.5 million next season for him. While Mathis is a downgrade offensively, his experience and knowledge behind the plate should help the young catchers develop into better major league talent. I have been pretty clear with my opinion that the Rangers will not be a contender for the next few seasons. Bringing in a Mathis is showing that they are truly in a development mode.
They could surprise us all and be much better than we expect, I just don’t see it. The 2019 season will be about watching young talent come into their own in the majors. That usually includes it’s fair share of struggles. I believe that the Rangers will bring in one more veteran catcher, also a guy who is defensively sound. Makes sense to me. Also, bringing a in a veteran catcher that works well with pitchers is a sign that the Rangers are going to give their young pitchers a chance to work it out at the major league level. They want to see what their prospects are made of.
