When Robinson Chirinos took a pitch off the forearm in Saturday night's game, the rumors started flying.
It wasn't too long after the pitch that we learned Chirinos had a fractured forearm and would be out anywhere from 10-12 weeks, leaving people wondering what the Rangers were going to do at an already thin position.
Luckily, weeks before they'd acquired Dallas native and TCU-ex Bryan Holaday to upgrade the backup position. But then, Holaday was suddenly the starter. They then brought up Brett Nicholas, who made his big-league debut on Monday night and collected a couple of hits in the meantime. Both have shown a tendency to throw out guys on the bases, and the Rangers' pitching staff has been tremendous with those guys as the primary backstops.
But, will the Rangers still look to upgrade with a big splash — for instance, trading for Jonathan Lucroy or Derek Norris? Both guys were linked to the Rangers in the offseason but nothing ever materialized. Now, it's unlikely anything will as the asking prices definitely won't be any less given the Rangers' desperation.
Sure, neither Nicholson or Holaday are going to be the offensive threat of Lucroy or Norris, or Chirinos for that matter. But any offense you get from the catcher position is a bonus. Those guys just need to be solid at calling games and good behind the plate, and so far, so good.
The Rangers will likely ride it out with this duo as long as they can, and if things go well they'll be able to do so until Chirinos returns.
