The Orioles today announced that they have signed catcher ROBINSON CHIRINOS to a one-year contract for the 2022 season.
Chirinos, 37, appeared in 45 games for the Chicago Cubs last season after beginning the year in the New York Yankees organization. He slashed .227/.324/.454 (22-for-97) with five home runs, five doubles, one triple, 13 runs scored, 15 RBI, and nine walks. Defensively, he appeared in 27 games (21 starts) behind the plate, two games at second base, and made one start as the designated hitter. He also appeared in 20 games as a pinch-hitter. Chirinos notched his seventh career multi-home run game on July 23 against Arizona.
Chirinos is a career .231/.325/.432 (445-for-1,929) hitter with 91 home runs, 105 doubles, five triples, 265 runs scored, 284 RBI, and 212 walks in 647 games. In 602 career games (556 starts) at catcher, he has thrown out 70-of-362 (19.3%) potential base stealers. In addition to his time with the Cubs in 2021, he has also played for the New York Mets (2020), Texas Rangers (2013-18, 2020), Houston Astros (2019), and Tampa Bay Rays (2011). He originally signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent on July 2, 2000, and spent 10 seasons in the Cubs’ system before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on January 8, 2011 in the eight-player deal that sent right-handed pitcher Matt Garza to the Cubs. He made his Major League debut on July 18, 2011, at 27 years old.
A native of Venezuela, Chirinos created the Robinson Chirinos Foundation in his hometown of Punto Fijo in 2012, which supports youth and families in the community by providing food, clothing, equipment, sports facilities, and school supplies. He was named the winner of the Texas Rangers’ 2016 Jim Sundberg Community Achievement Award, which honors a player’s public service in the area.
