Texas Rangers: Has Robinson Chirinos Won The Starting Catcher Job?

The Texas Rangers continue to battle for a postseason spot in September. They need their bats to come alive this month, and have received a huge boost by one player in their offense.

It’s not every day you hear that Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos is one of the hottest hitters in the league. Luckily for Rangers fans it’s true, and he could very well earn himself the starting catcher job in 2018.

It was a risky move for the Rangers to trade catcher Jonathan Lucroy in July. The organization felt Chirinos could handle the every day job behind the plate, and they were right. Chirinos is batting .337 with four home runs and 10 RBIs with a .447 OBP and .581 slugging since Lucroy was traded.

Manager Jeff Banister decided to give Chirinos a break on Saturday, but he’s been in there just about every day since the Lucroy trade. He’s been so good that Chirinos has reached base in 23 consecutive games which is the longest streak by a Rangers player this season.

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In the off-season the Rangers gave Chirinos an extension through 2018 with a team option or 2019. It’s a team friendly deal that could potentially pay off huge for the Rangers. Should Chirinos be given the every day job in 2018?

The answer to that is yes, as he’s proven the last month or so that he can handle the job behind the plate. This season Chirinos is hitting .266 with 16 home runs and 36 RBI in 74 games with Texas.

The Rangers should go out and acquire another catcher this off-season. The team needs a reliable backup behind Chirinos. There is no need to pay out big-time money to a free agent now that Chirinos has emerged.

Thankfully now the Rangers can put more money into improving other positions. Chirinos has come through for Texas, and should be named the starting catcher for the Rangers in 2018.

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