The Nationals released Herrmann on Tuesday.
Herrmann had spent the entire 2022 season with the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate at Rochester, hitting .160 in 86 plate appearances. The 34-year-old catcher last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the Athletics and appears unlikely to get another look at the big-league level, given his current career trajectory.
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Nationals' Chris Herrmann: Gets MiLB deal from Nats
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Herrmann signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Monday, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Herrmann's deal includes an invite to big-league spring training, but unless Washington opts to keep three catchers on the Opening Day roster, he's unlikely to beat out Riley Adams for the backup job behind No. 1 backstop Keibert Ruiz. The 34-year-old Herrmann has logged 992 career plate appearances at the big-league level, but he hasn't appeared in the majors since 2019. He spent the 2021 campaign with Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Worcester, appearing in 48 games and hitting .222 with seven home runs and 20 RBI.
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Red Sox's Chris Herrmann: Activated from IL
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Triple-A Worcester reinstated Herrmann from its 7-day injured list Wednesday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.
The journeyman catcher had been on the shelf since Sept. 18 with the right elbow injury. Herrmann has played exclusively for Worcester in 2021, hitting .222 with seven home runs and 20 RBI across 180 plate appearances.
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Red Sox's Chris Herrmann: Lands on injured list
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Herrman (undisclosed) was placed on the injured list at Triple-A Worcester on Monday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.
The veteran catcher as spent the season at Triple-A and seen occasional starts, but he's sidelined by an undisclosed injury. It's unclear if Herrman will be healthy before the end of the minor-league campaign.
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Red Sox's Chris Herrmann: Sent to minor-league camp
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Herrmann was sent to minor-league camp Friday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Herrmann was in camp as a non-roster invitee and always appeared to be a long shot to break camp with the team. He'll provide organizational depth as an extra catcher this season should Christian Vazquez (eye) or Kevin Plawecki miss significant time.
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Red Sox's Chris Herrmann: Signs minor-league deal
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The Red Sox signed Herrmann to a minor-league contract Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Herrmann will offer depth at catcher behind Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki in spring training, but his status as a non-roster player will hurt his chances of earning an Opening Day bench role with Boston unless the team elects to keep three backstops. Though he didn't appear in the majors in 2020, Herrmann spent time in the Rays and Giants organizations. Herrmann is a lifetime .205/.282/.344 hitter with 25 home runs and 103 RBIs in 370 career games.
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Giants' Chris Herrmann: Signs minors deal with Giants
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Herrmann signed a minor-league deal with the Giants, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Herrmann will be part of the Giants' player pool and taxi squad. He's found an organization with a fairly significant need behind the plate, as Buster Posey's decision to opt out left Tyler Heineman, who had just five career big-league games under his belt, as the team's Opening Day catcher. Whether or not Herrmann will be able to carve out a significant role in San Francisco remains to be seen.
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Chris Herrmann: Heads to free agency
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Herrmann exercised his opt-out clause and became a free agent Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Herrmann's minor-league deal gave him the right to opt out if he weren't on the club's big-league roster. Herrmann was sent to the Rays' alternate camp site in early July, and there didn't seem to be much reason to believe he'd get big-league opportunities any time soon. As a 32-year-old with a career .205/.282/.344 slash line, Herrmann is unlikely to be in high demand on the open market.
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Rays' Chris Herrmann: Shifts to alternate camp site
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Herrmann has been shifted to the Rays' alternate summer camp site at Port Charlotte, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The move doesn't mean the veteran backstop has a reduced chance of making the Opening Day roster, despite his move out of the Rays' main training site at Tropicana Field. Rather, manager Kevin Cash opted to shift both Herrmann and his fellow competitor for a possible third catcher spot, Kevan Smith, to "better distribute the workload" among the two groups. Herrmann could actually have a reasonable chance of making the expanded Opening Day roster, considering he can also play the corner outfield spots.
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Rays' Chris Herrmann: Gets into player pool
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Herrmann is part of the 60-man player pool that will report to Rays' summer camp, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Herrmann was making a favorable impression before spring training was suspended, hitting .389 (7-for-18) across nine Grapefruit League games. In addition to catcher, the 32-year-old can also play the corner outfield spots, and that type of versatility could make him an ideal investment in one of the additional roster spots that will be afforded to teams over the first four weeks of the season.
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Rays' Chris Herrmann: Layoff could be advantageous
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Herrmann, who's battling Kevan Smith and Michael Perez for the backup catcher job, could potentially benefit from the current suspension of spring training, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Herrmann was already making a strong case for himself in Grapefruit League play, as he hit .389 (7-for-18) with a triple, four RBI and one walk across nine spring games. Torbio adds that as a newcomer to the Rays this season, the current pause in play gives Herrmann valuable downtime to continue studying the team's pitching staff, which, along with his ability to also play the corner outfield, could certainly prove integral to his chances of winning the backup catcher battle. As is, with all three candidates for the position flashing some positives during the truncated exhibition slate, the competition may be sorted out during the ramp-up to the regular season, whenever that unfolds.
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Rays' Chris Herrmann: Making case for backup catcher job
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Herrmann, who's competing with Michael Perez and Kevan Smith for the backup catcher role this spring, is hitting .500 (6-for-12) with four RBI and one walk across six Grapefruit League games.
Herrmann looks like he'll make manager Kevin Cash's decision a tough one, as he already arrived with a solid major-league track record and is wielding a hot bat early. The 32-year-old has plenty of experience handling a pitching staff after stops with the Twins, Diamondbacks, Mariners and Athletics, and Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports Herrmann's ability to also play multiple positions could give him an upper hand. "I've got all my gloves," Herrmann said. "My outfield glove, my first-base glove, my catcher's mitt. I'll be ready to go wherever they need me to."
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Rays' Chris Herrmann: Agrees to deal with Rays
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Herrmann signed a minor-league contract with the Rays on Monday as a non-roster invitee, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Herrmann saw limited playing time for the Athletics in 2019 after undergoing knee surgery in March, but he managed to appear in 30 games for the big-league club. He wasn't particularly effective, hitting just .202/.280/.274 with one home run and 29 strikeouts, and he was released in September. He'll get the chance to work with the major-league coaching staff during spring training, but it's unlikely that he'll have a major impact behind the dish for the Rays.
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Chris Herrmann: Released by Oakland
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Herrmann was released by the Athletics on Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Herrmann entered camp as the A's presumed starter behind the plate, but March knee surgery delayed his debut until early July. He never really got established after that, playing just 30 games while posting a poor .202/.280/.274 slash line. The 31-year-old unsurprisingly went unclaimed on waivers and will likely be stuck waiting until the offseason to find his next job.
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Athletics' Chris Herrmann: Booted from 40-man roster
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Herrmann was designated for assignment by Oakland on Tuesday.
Herrmann will head to waivers after slashing .202/.280/.274 with a homer and eight RBI over 30 games this season in the majors. Beau Taylor has been claimed by the Athletics and will take Herrmann's place on the 40-man roster.
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Athletics' Chris Herrmann: Returns to lineup
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Herrmann (groin) is back in the lineup Wednesday against the Royals.
Herrmann hadn't started since leaving Sunday's game against the Giants with a bruised groin, though he did appear off the bench Monday. He'll catch and bat ninth in Wednesday's contest.
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Athletics' Chris Herrmann: Seeing role reduction
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Herrmann will start at catcher and bat ninth Sunday against the Giants, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Herrmann had been on the bench for five of the previous six games and appears to have slipped behind Josh Phegley on the depth chart. Over his last 10 games, Herrmann has gone 5-for-28 with one extra-base hit and nine strikeouts, making it relatively easy for manager Bob Melvin to go in another direction.
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Athletics' Chris Herrmann: Returns to bench Saturday
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Herrmann is out of the starting lineup Saturday against the Giants, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Josh Phegley will start behind the plate and hit ninth against left-hander Madison Bumgarner. Hermann is in a 2-for-20 slump with seven strikeouts in his last seven starts. The left-handed-hitting catcher has no extra-base hits in August and has only logged nine at-bats against southpaws.
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Athletics' Chris Herrmann: Out of Thursday's lineup
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Hermann is not in Thursday's lineup against the Yankees.
He is hitting .120 with nine strikeouts in 25 at-bats this month. Josh Phegley will start behind the dish and hit ninth.
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Athletics' Chris Herrmann: Heads to bench
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Herrmann is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees.
Herrmann will give way to Josh Phegley behind the dish Wednesday as the Athletics stack righties against southpaw J.A. Happ. Since the start of August, Herrmann is hitting just .120 with a 29 percent strikeout rate in nine games.
