The White Sox agreed to a one-year deal with 37-year-old free agent Martin Maldonado Tuesday, not long after acquiring veteran catcher Max Stassi in a trade as they attempt to upgrade their catching.
The Sox also have Maldonado’s former Astros teammate Korey Lee, who showed well defensively but batted .077 in 70 plate appearances after he was acquired from the Astros for reliever Kendall Graveman at the trade deadline last summer.
The Sox will be the sixth team of Maldonado’s 13-year career, and they view him as a good fit for what figures to be a young, unproven pitching staff in 2024.
A proven catcher defensively for much of his career — he won a Gold Glove with the Angels in 2017 and was considered a key component of three World Series teams — Maldonado owns a .207/.282/.349 batting line and .631 OPS with 111 home runs during his career. With the Astros last season, he batted .191/.258/.348 while hitting 15 home runs for the second consecutive season. The Astros signed Victor Caratini to a two-year deal in December.
While Maldonado’s reputation as a leader for pitching staffs and game calling are excellent, his framing numbers fell to last among qualified catchers per Statcast last season, and he threw out 14% of attempting base stealers.
Maldonado appeared in the World Series with the Astros in 2019, ‘21 and ‘22.
The Sox have not announced the deal, which sources confirmed to the Sun-Times. The deal includes a one-year option for 2025. Maldonado’s addition puts four catchers on the 40-man roster — Maldonado, Stassi, Lee and Carlos Perez.
The Sox are obligated for only the major league minimum salary on Stassi’s 2024 contract, the bulk of which will be paid by the Braves. Stassi, 32, was acquired for a player to be named later Dec. 9.
First-year general manager Chris Getz and manager Pedro Grifol, a former minor league catcher, have been targeting improved defense for a team that doesn’t figure to compete next season after going 61-101 in 2023. Getz aims to field better defensive teams next season and beyond, and wants better fielding all over the diamond behind the Sox’ young pitchers in 2024.
