Should the Texas Rangers try to acquire catcher Blake Swihart from Boston?

Why the Texas Rangers need a new catcher

As part of the worst statistical defense in MLB, the Texas Rangers catchers have been far from special in 2018. Through combined efforts, Texas backstops rank 29th in baseball with a .120 caught stealing percentage. Specifically, only 3 of 25 base runners have been thrown out on stolen base attempts this season. Pitching certainly contributes to the poor statistic, but the onus is primarily on the catchers.

From an offensive standpoint, it doesn’t get much better. Robinson Chirinos is hitting .175 with a .246 OBP in 29 games played. He has also struck out 49 times in 103 at-bats. Carlos Perez is the team’s current backup catcher. He’s played in just six games with Texas, though, his numbers aren’t exactly raising any eyebrows either. Perez is hitting .143 with a .395 OPS.

Point being, the Texas Rangers are getting very little production from their catchers. That’s a problem. Catchers are customarily coveted more so for their defense, but it’s about time the Rangers get an offensive threat behind the plate. In fact, it’s been since Mike Napoli in 2011 that Texas has had a good offensive season from a catcher (not counting a few good months from Jonathan Lucroy in 2016).