Padres' Martin Maldonado: Poaching starts from Elias Diaz
Rotowire
Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Maldonado will pick up his ninth start in 14 games and seems to have at least moved into a timeshare behind the plate with Elias Diaz. The two backstops have produced at a similar level offensively -- Maldonado owns a .572 OPS compared to Diaz's .592 mark -- but Maldonado is regarded as the superior pitch framer of the two. Unless Diaz picks up the pace at the plate to separate himself from Maldonado from a performance standpoint, the playing time could tilt in the latter's favor.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Heading to bench Wednesday
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
After submitting a lowly .404 OPS in 48 games with the White Sox before being released last July, Maldonado has enjoyed a relative resurgence in San Diego so far this season. The 38-year-old backstop continues to provide most of his value behind the plate, but he's held his own with the bat so far, slashing .250/.276/.357 over 29 plate appearances. As a result, Maldonado has moved into a timeshare at catcher with Elias Diaz, who will be back in the lineup Wednesday after hitting the bench in five of the past seven games. The playing time will likely tilt back in Diaz's favor eventually, but the distribution of starts could be relatively even while he and Maldonado are performing at a similar level offensively.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Goes deep in loss
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Maldonado went 1-for-2 with a solo home run Friday in a 3-1 loss to the Cubs.
Maldonado supplied San Diego's only run of the game with a solo blast to left field in the third inning. The veteran catcher had gone just 2-for-11 heading into Friday, and his homer against Chicago was his first of the campaign. Maldonado and Elias Diaz have split work behind the plate for the Padres pretty evenly so far this season -- the former has played in five games and logged 13 plate appearances while the latter has registered 16 plate appearances and has also appeared in five contests.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Added to roster
Rotowire
The Padres selected Maldonado's contract from Triple-A El Paso prior to Thursday's 7-4 win over Atlanta. Maldonado was used off the bench and struck out in his lone plate appearance.
Maldonado secured his spot on the Opening Day roster as a backup catcher over Luis Campusano, who was optioned to Triple-A over the weekend. Elias Diaz received the nod behind the dish in Thursday's opener and is expected to dominate the playing time at catcher this season, with Maldonado likely being limited to one or two starts per week.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Will be part of Opening Day roster
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Maldonado has been informed that he will make San Diego's Opening Day roster, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Maldonado's shortcomings as a hitter are well-documented -- he hasn't notched a regular-season batting average above .191 since 2020 and slashed a meager .167/.310/.208 during spring training this year. However, the veteran's defense and ability to work with pitchers are well respected, which appears to be enough for him to break camp with the big club as the Padres' No. 2 catcher behind Elias Diaz. Former vaunted prospect Luis Campusano was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Monday, but Maldonado's roster spot could be challenged at any point in the season if Campusano shows growth with the bat in the minors.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Signs on with San Diego
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The Padres signed Maldonado to a minor-league contract Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
Maldonado was released by the White Sox in July of this past season after slashing just .119/.174/.230 in 147 plate appearances. The 38-year-old has also earned a minus-21 Run Value via Baseball Savant over the last two seasons for his defensive work. The Padres do have a tenuous catching situation with Luis Campusano coming off a disappointing season and Brett Sullivan currently slated to back him up, so it's possible Maldonado wins a roster spot.
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Martin Maldonado: Wants to continue playing
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Maldonado wants to play one final season in 2025, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Maldonado, 38, slashed only .119/.174/.230 in 147 plate appearances for the White Sox in 2024 before being released in late July. His defensive metrics have also taken a nosedive over the last two seasons, as he's earned a combined minus-21 Run Value via Baseball Savant. If Maldonado does latch on with a team for 2025, he'd likely have to take a minor-league contract and attempt to win a backup job.
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Martin Maldonado: Parts ways with White Sox
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Maldonado was released by the White Sox after he cleared waivers Sunday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
The veteran catcher was designated for assignment by Chicago on Wednesday, and it's hardly a surprise he passed through waivers unclaimed. Maldonado has a .119/.174/.230 slash line in 147 plate appearances this season and may have a tough time finding another landing spot in the big leagues.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Dropped from 40-man
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The White Sox designated Maldonado for assignment Wednesday, Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic report.
After slashing .119/.174/.230 across 147 plate appearances during what has been the worst season of his career at the plate, Maldonado has now officially lost his roster spot with the White Sox. Given his poor performance, the 37-year-old backstop will most likely pass through waivers unclaimed, at which point he would have the option to elect free agency.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Unlikely source of power
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Maldonado went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Twins.
Maldonado entered July with only one home run for the season, but he's now slugged three long balls in his last four games. He'll remain the clear backup to Korey Lee on the depth chart and has typically been drawing a start every three games.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Ends power drought
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Maldonado went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored the three RBI in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Guardians.
The veteran backstop belted a two-run shot off Tim Herrin in the eighth inning, giving Maldonado his second homer of the year and first since Apr. 26. The 37-year-old has had a miserable season at the plate even by his own poor standards, slashing .096/.144/.160 through 135 plate appearances with a career-worst 34.8 percent strikeout rate, but the White Sox seem content with his defensive contributions when he's in the lineup.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Filling in for resting Lee
Rotowire
Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against Atlanta.
Top backstop Korey Lee is getting a breather for the day game after he started at catcher in each of the previous three days, so Maldonado will get a turn behind the plate. Maldonado is valued for his defense, but with an .088/.140/.132 slash line and a minus-24 wRC+, he's been the league's least-productive hitter among all players with at least 100 plate appearances this season.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Catching while Lee serves as DH
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Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Korey Lee remains the White Sox's No. 1 backstop, but he'll serve as the designated hitter Wednesday to open up a start behind the plate for Maldonado. The 37-year-old backstop has gone hitless in his last six starts and carries a lowly .083/.135/.131 slash line into Wednesday's contest.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Slugs first homer
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Maldonado went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and scored twice in Friday's 9-4 win over Tampa Bay.
Maldonado hasn't exactly been the greatest offensive catcher in the big leagues this season, as his sixth-inning three-run homer gave him his first three RBI of 2024. The 37-year-old is still batting just .087 on the year, and fantasy managers should not expect him to have many more games similar to Friday's showing.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Falls into timeshare
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Maldonado has fallen into a timeshare behind the dish with Korey Lee, with both backstops having now made four starts apiece over the past eight games. Even in AL-only leagues, Maldonado won't retain much fantasy value while he's hitting .048 on the season and not even playing on a regular basis.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Sitting Monday
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins.
Maldonado and Korey Lee have now alternated turns behind the dish over the past six games, with both backstops drawing three starts apiece. With the White Sox sitting at 3-18 on the season and already shaping up as non-contenders, the 37-year-old Maldonado could become less of a priority as the campaign rolls along and the organization aims to get more of an evaluation of the 25-year-old Lee.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Sits down Saturday
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Maldonado isn't in the White Sox's lineup for Saturday's game against the Phillies.
Maldonado is just 2-for-35 through 14 games, and he'll sit down as the White Sox look to get more production from the catcher position. Korey Lee will start at catcher and bat eighth.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Sitting for nightcap
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Maldonado isn't in the White Sox's lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Royals.
Maldonado went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts during Game 1, lowering his batting average down to .061. He'll be replaced behind the dish by Korey Lee, who will bat eighth.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Resting Sunday
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
Maldonado will get a breather in the series finale after he caught both of the previous two days while going hitless across six at-bats. Korey Lee gets the nod behind the dish Sunday.
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White Sox's Martin Maldonado: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Maldonado will retreat to the bench for the series finale after catching in four of Chicago's last five games. Korey Lee will step in behind the plate in Maldonado's stead and will bat sixth.
