Reds Sign Third Free Agent Catcher Of The Last Month

The Cincinnati Reds have signed their third free agent catcher of the offseason, this time bringing back a familiar face by re-signing Austin Romine.

It's a minor league deal with an invite to major league camp at spring training for the 34-year-old backstop.

Romine is an 11-year veteran who came to the Reds in August of this past season, and reportedly had a profound effect on rookie starting pitchers Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene. According to Bobby Nightengale in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the two youngsters raved about Romine’s impact on them when he came on board. He was far and away the most experienced catcher they had worked with.

Romine's value is clearly on the defensive side of the ball, as he hit just .147 for the Reds with a .437 OPS in 95 at-bats. His lifetime marks are a .230 average with a .616 OPS. His OPS+ last season was a silly 19, which is 81% worse than the average hitter.

The Reds have also signed veteran catchers Luke Maile and Curt Casali within the last four weeks, and all three of those are backups to promising young starting catcher Tyler Stephenson.

From Reds: Signed to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League camp RHP Alan Busenitz and C Austin Romine.
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) December 27, 2022