CHICAGO – The White Sox added experienced catcher Martín Maldonado via a one-year, $4.25 million contract with an option for 2025 for his exceptional work with pitchers and his great leadership.
It was not a free agency signing based on his offense, but after just over two months of the season, Maldonado has hit a new low with the wood, something that neither the club nor the Puerto Rican mask expected.
He is 7-for-99 in 35 games with a double, a home run, and a .235 OPS. Maldonado is 1 for 46 with one RBI in his last 15 games, with his most recent hit coming on May 11 against Cleveland, and has gone scoreless in his last 35 plate appearances.
“I have played this sport for a long time and I understand that it is the nature of the game,” Maldonado stated. “The only thing you can control is to keep working, work hard day by day.
“I’m doing that. At the end of the year the results will be seen. I can’t be that bad for a whole season. We play this sport to give results. “I take it one day at a time.”
On Sunday during the loss to the Red Sox, Maldonado batted in the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs after left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino struck out Cuban Óscar Colás with runners on second and third and one out and then intentionally walked the Venezuelan Lenyn Sosa. Maldonado fell behind 0-2 before hitting a fly ball to center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, leaving the game tied at 3.
In the eighth inning, with the White Sox ahead, 4-3, and Sosa on third base with one out, Maldonado swung at a cut fastball outside the zone from closer Kenley Jansen to strike out. The White Sox were unable to score in that inning, and Boston tied the score with a run in the ninth.
Manager of Cuban descent, Pedro Grifol, defended his decision not to send a pinch hitter, such as catcher Korey Lee, in any situation.
“We’re in a 3-3 game in the sixth inning, and there’s a reason why Maldonado is behind the plate. And there are reasons why I also give Korey days off,” Grifol said. “Korey had a streak of 10 or 11 in a row and Maldonado does a great job behind the plate, but I understand. I agree.
“[Maldonado] He’s not batting. It’s the hot topic every time he’s behind the plate. And it will continue to be a hot topic. And I am going to continue making decisions that I feel are best for the team, not only offensively, [si no también] in defence. The conclusion here is that we reached the ninth inning winning the game 4-3, and yes, we could have extended the lead there, but I like Maldonado in these types of games, in these types of situations.
Grifol said he regretted not going with right-handed hitter Danny Mendick instead of left-handed hitter Colás in that sixth inning more than the situation with Maldonado. Lee has become the club’s main guard, and attributes his development to the great help he has gotten from Maldonado, but Grifol continues to value what the Puerto Rican brings behind the plate.
“I like what he does behind the plate and I value him a lot, tremendously. But some people not so much. “I do,” Grifol stressed. “Not only am I going to continue to maintain my stance on him, regardless of the at-bat, whether it’s the second, fourth inning, I firmly believe in what he does defensively.”
“You have seen it,” Maldonado highlighted. “It only takes one pitch. It could be a blooper, a broken bat, a hit ball or something. I feel like yesterday I received a good walk and hit two hits with authority. “I just try to stay positive.”
