New coach AJ Hinch’s wish was fulfilled: the Detroit Tigers are hiring a catcher.
The Tigers are finalizing a one-year contract with catcher Wilson Ramos, a league source told MLive late on Tuesday.
The news was first reported by Jose Rivera of WOW Deportes, who said the contract would be worth $ 2 million.
Ramos’ agent later confirmed the deal on Twitter.
Venezuela, 33, Ramos has spent the last two seasons at the Mets. He has a career OPS of 0.755 (103 OPS +), well above the average for a receiver, but his defense has had some question marks in recent years.
He became a free agent after Mets declined a $ 10 million contract option for 2021 and instead paid him a $ 1.5 million purchase.
The Tigers currently have two 40-man catchers, Grayson Greiner and Jake Rogers. Veterans Eric Haase and Dustin Garneau are to be invited to spring training.
The Tigers have been fighting offensively in the catcher since James McCann, after the 2018 season, not competing. They signed Austin Romine for a year and $ 4.1 million a year ago, but he struggled on the tray after a hot start.
Hinch, a former catcher, said on Tuesday that he “ideally” would like to add another catcher to the mix before spring training.
“In a perfect world, there is still a guy who can help us, but if the market produces it, if this is how we choose to spend our dollars, it obviously depends on (general manager Al Avila),” he said.
Ramos made his MLB debut for the Minnesota Twins in 2010, but was negotiated with the Washington Nationals later that year. He spent seven seasons with the Nats, making the All-Star Game in 2016.
He signed with Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2017 season and was traded to Philadelphia in late 2018. In the past three seasons, he has reached 0.288 with an OPS of 0.785 and 34 home runs in 1,095 plate games.
Ramos got high marks with his glove early in his career, but defensive concerns grew with age.
It is unclear whether the Tigers see Ramos as a reserve or title holder. Rogers, a potential former player who turns 26 in April, is known for his first-rate defense but has struggled with the bat. He may end up wasting playing time with veteran Ramos.
Ramos had been on the news for almost 10 years, when he was kidnapped at gunpoint by kidnappers who later sought payment of the ransom. Venezuelan commandos released him on November 11, 2011, a date he now tattooed on his forearm.
“I know of many [kidnapping] cases in my country where these people never come home, never see their families again, ”Ramos told MLB.com. “That’s why I say I was born again, because God allowed me to get out of it all unscathed and it was another chance in life.”
Ramos is the third Major League free agent hired by the Tigers this winter, joining pitcher Jose Urena (one year, $ 3.25 million) and outside defender Robbie Grossman (two years, $ 10 million).
The Tigers will have to remove one player from the 40-player roster when Ramos’s signing becomes official.
TIGERS FREE AGENT SIGNATURES
Major League (3): RHP Jose Urena, DE Robbie Grossman, C Wilson Ramos.3
Secondary alloy (14): LHP Ian Krol *, C Dustin Garneau *, LHP Locke St. John, RHP AJ Ladwig, RHP Henry Martinez, RHP Zac Shepherd, IF Isrrael De La Cruz, LHP Miguel Del Pozo, LHP Robbie Ross, RHP Andrew Moore, IF Yariel Gonzalez, 1B Aderlin Rodriguez, RHP Erasmo Ramirez *, LHP Derek Holland, IF Drew Ward.
* – confirmed invitation to spring training