Texas Rangers: Who are the best free agent catcher options remaining?

Russell Martin

Russell Martin, like Chirinos, represents a more veteran option who could be effective on a short term deal. Like Castro, he’d be a massive upgrade defensively while putting up respectable offensive numbers. He spent 2019 with the Dodgers, playing 83 games, 60 of which were behind the plate. He hit .220 with a  .667 OPS meaning he wouldn’t quite be the influence at the plate that Chirinos or Castro would be. However, defensively he was superb last season, helping him to a 1.2 fWAR, the 14th straight season he’s posted fWAR of 1.0 or better.

Martin finished 17th among catchers in FRAA in 2019 at 6.2, edging out the aforementioned Jason Castro. He’s a right-handed hitter which adds a little value for the Rangers and would be a good candidate on a one-year deal to help give the club more time to find a long-term solution. The question for a guy like Martin is whether he’d come to a team like Texas that could compete, but isn’t really a contender at this point when he’s in this stage of his career. He’s likely to draw interest from legit contenders and whereas Chirinos could forego contending to come back to a club where he’s loved, there is no such connection for Martin.