The White Sox agree with Catcher Martin Maldonado on a one-year deal with an option through 2025, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (on X). Robert Murray from FanSided (X Link) initially reported that the sides were close to an agreement. The financial terms for the MVP Sports Group client are not yet known.
Maldonado's move to Chicago's South Side officially ends a four-and-a-half-year tenure in Houston. It was clear the Astros were moving on from the 37-year-old when they signed him Victor Caratini signed a two-year contract during the winter meetings. With Caratini as an experienced option behind you Yainer DiazMaldonado had to look elsewhere.
A veteran of 13 big league appearances, he will now join the sixth team of his MLB career. He meets his former teammate from Houston again Korey Leewho the Astros traded to the Sox for relievers Kendall Graveman as of last summer's deadline. The 25-year-old Lee has been underperforming offensively in parts of two big league seasons. He is a highly rated defensive catcher, which is also Maldonado's calling card.
Outside of the shortened 2020 season, Maldonado has never reached an average level in the major leagues. Overall, he is one of the least influential hitters in the sport. In more than 3,700 career plate appearances, the right-handed hitter owns a line of .207/.282/.349. He hasn't approached the Mendoza Line in three years and has posted a .183/.260/.333 slash line since the start of 2021.
Only among 226 batters with at least 1,000 plate appearances over that stretch Joey Gallo has a lower batting average. Maldonado has the worst on-base grade of the group while ranking fifth from bottom in slugging. That the Astros still relied on him as their No. 1 catcher on some of the MLB's best rosters shows how much the coaches and pitching staff valued his presence behind the plate.
Indeed, for most of his career, Maldonado has proven to be an excellent defensive catcher. That wasn't the case last season. Statcast ranked him as the worst pitch framer among qualified backstops. He threw out just 14% of attempted base stealers, which is about six percentage points below the league mark. That may be more a reflection of Houston's pitching staff than Maldonado, as Statcast ranked him 23rd out of 81 catchers (minimum 10 throws) in average pop time to second base.
In any case, the bigger appeal for Chicago's front office and coaching staff lies in Maldonado's decision-making abilities and working with a pitching staff. The White Sox will likely be without a number of inexperienced pitchers in 2024. Dylan Stop it is the staff ace, although it's not certain he won't be traded before Opening Day.
KBO returnees Erick Fedde is a lock for the season-opening rotation, while Michael Kopech will likely get a rebound chance. Michael Soroka And Jared Shuster – each of them was acquired by the Braves in the Aaron Bummer Trade – could compete for places. Rule 5 Selection Shane Drohan must remain on the MLB roster or be waived and subsequently returned to the Red Sox as a prospect Cristian Mena And Jake Eder could reach the big leagues at some point.
Maldonado will work with this pitching group. It can serve as a short-term bridge to attract potential customers Edgar Querolast summer's headliner Lucas Giolito/Reynaldo Lopez act. The 20-year-old spent all of last season at Double-A. He could reach the majors late in the 24 season and become the primary option in 2025.
In the meantime, it's possible that Maldonado's signing displaces one of the organization's other catchers. Once the deal is finalized, the White Sox will have four catchers on the 40-man roster. Chicago is unlikely to abandon Lee and leave the country Carlos Perez And Max Stassi possibly on the bladder. Pérez didn't perform well in the majors or Triple-A last season. The White Sox acquired Stassi from the Braves just a few weeks ago, but they aren't looking for money above the league minimum salary and didn't give up much (a player to be named later) to get him .
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