We talked this morning about how one cannot draw any real conclusions from the results of All-Star balloting. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still look at the voting results and say “huh.” Let’s do that for the American League, shall we?
Nelson Cruz is within hailing distance of David Ortiz. Melky Cabrera is a distance fifth for outfielders. I can’t say that looks profoundly low for guys of their stature. I’m sure someone will try to draw some conclusions anyway.
The Rangers have signed catcher Jeff Mathis to a two-year contract, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal is pending a physical.
Mathis turns 36 years old at the end of March and has a career .564 OPS across 14 seasons, but he is well-regarded for his defense and ability to handle a pitching staff.
The arrival of Mathis could mean the Rangers are moving on from Robinson Chirinos behind the plate, as he is now a free agent. The Rangers could go after another catcher to complement Mathis or just have Isiah Kiner-Falefa back up Mathis. Though Kiner-Falefa mostly played elsewhere, including three spots across the infield, he did rack up over 300 defensive innings behind the plate in 2018.
