The Tigers have reached an agreement with free agent catcher Wilson Ramos on a one-year, $2MM deal, per José F. Fivera of Wow Deportes (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of MLB Network confirms the deal (via Twitter). The team has not yet announced the deal, as it’s pending a physical, but the deal is done, as posted by his agent, tweets Jason Beck of MLB.com.
Ramos returns to the American League Central for the first time since beginning his career with the Minnesota Twins. Since his debut in 2010, Ramos has accrued 3,623 plate appearances across 946 games for the Twins, Nationals, Rays, Phillies, and Mets. “Buffalo” was a popular player and borderline star in the District, but an injury while in the final stages of arbitration prompted the Nats to let him walk in free agency. The Rays, ever in need of catching help, took a flyer on Ramos, allowing him to rehab and return midway through the 2017 season. He was an All-Star for the Rays in 2018 for the second time of his career.
The 33-year-old backstop spent last season with the Mets, slashing .239/.297/.387 across 155 plate appearances. He boasts a solid 103 wRC+ mark for his career with .160 ISO, 16.6 strikeout rate and 6.5 percent walk rate. He’ll have a chance to compete for “QB1” reps in Detroit. Grayson Greiner, Jake Rogers, Dustin Garneau, and Eric Haase will share the catchers room in the spring. Only Ramos, Greiner, and Rogers are currently on the 40-man roster. Signing Ramos buys some time for Rogers, should they want more time for the 25-year-old to develop. Per Fangraphs, Rogers was the top-ranked catcher in the Tigers system going into 2020.