Former Ranger catcher Robinson Chirinos is the new bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles
Former Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos has joined the major league coaching staff of the Baltimore Orioles, the O’s announced today. Chirinos will be the bench coach for O’s manager Brandon Hyde in 2025.
The 40 year old Chirinos spent parts of 11 seasons in the major leagues, most of them with the Texas Rangers, for whom he played from 2013-18, and then again in 2020. Chirinos was originally signed by the Chicago Cubs out of Venezuela in 2000 as an infielder, and started working as a catcher in 2008. The Cubs sent Chirinos to the Tampa Bay Rays in January of 2011 in the Matt Garza/Chris Archer trade, After Chirinos missed all of the 2012 season due to a concussion and related side effects, the Rangers purchased him from the Rays before the 2013 season.
Chirinos was very well respected throughout his time with the Rangers as a leader and as a person. He was the very first winner of the Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man Award in 2014, and was seen as being someone who had a future in the game as a coach once his playing days were over.
Chirinos’s final season was with the Orioles in 2022, when he played for Hyde and was the primary backup for Adley Rutschman.