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Martín Maldonado Hoping To Play in 2025

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Catcher Martín Maldonado was released by the White Sox in July and didn’t sign with another club in the final months of the 2024 season. But that doesn’t mean he’s walking away, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (X link) relays that the backstop is hoping to play one more season.

Maldonado, now 38, has a long track record as a glove-first catcher. In almost 4,000 career plate appearances at the major league level, he has produced a batting line of .203/.278/.344. That translates to a wRC+ of 70, indicating he’s been 30% below league average at the plate in his career.

But behind the plate is where he has created his value. He has a career tally of 59 Defensive Runs Saved, one of the top ten marks in the majors from 2012 to the present. Outlets like FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast have given him strong grades for his framing, blocking and throwing in his career. On top of those quantifiable elements, he’s been lauded for intangibles like working with pitchers and providing clubhouse leadership.

Despite the lack of offense, he has signed four different contracts in the past six years, each with annual values between $2MM and $5MM. Teams have generally been willing to tolerate his lineup presence in exchange for his other contributions.

He tested the limits of that tolerance in 2024, however, and found a breaking point. He signed a one-year, $4.3MM deal with the White Sox going into the most recent season. But he hit just .119/.174/.230 in his 147 plate appearances, striking out in 34.7% of them while only drawing a walk 5.4% of the time. Though the Sox surely knew they weren’t going to be getting an elite bat, that was poor even by Maldonado’s low standards, so he was released in July.

It appears that Maldonado would prefer a better final act as a major leaguer, so he’ll try to get back in action in 2025. After missing the past few months of the season, he recently suited up for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. He hit two home runs in his ten games there but slashed .114/.184/.314 in that small sample, for what it’s worth.

Maldonado won’t have huge earning power with the way his 2024 season went, but what could work in his favor is that the catching market isn’t strong overall. Guys like Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka and Carson Kelly represent the top of the free agent market. Clubs like the Nationals, Padres, Marlins, Rays and others could be on the lookout for catching upgrades this offseason, so perhaps Maldonado will be able to find some interest, though he’d likely be looking at minor league offers.

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

The hot stove is starting to warm up, with multiple deals being signed in the recent days and weeks. If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to the rest of the winter or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Kevin Pillar Hoping To Play In 2025

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Outfielder Kevin Pillar previously said he was “98% sure” that he was going to retire after 2024, but it seems like he would like to squeeze through that little 2% window he left open for himself. On an appearance on MLB Network’s Hot Stove (video link from X), Pillar said he is now hoping to give it another go next year. He also revealed that he had thumb surgery at the end of the 2024 season.

Pillar, 36 in January, started last season with the White Sox. He hit just .160/.290/.360 in 17 games with that club and was back on the open market before the end of April. He latched on with the Angels and it was during his time with that club that he indicated retirement was likely over the horizon.

He went on to hit seven home runs in 282 plate appearances for the Halos and produce a batting line of .236/.291/.378. Perhaps more important than the statistics was that Pillar’s mentality changed, according to the man himself. “For the first time in probably forever, I was just playing for the love of the game, the joy of the game,” Pillar said of his time with the Angels. “I wasn’t worried about tomorrow, the next day, my future. And I found a lot of success in that.”

He adds that, after some time to reflect, he is “pretty sure” that he still wants to play. He doesn’t know if any club will offer him a spot, but he plans to stay in shape and will answer the phone if someone calls. Pillar spent about two weeks on the injured list in September due to a left thumb sprain. In the clip, he mentions that he underwent surgery at the end of the season, though he gave no indication that the procedure is impacting his offseason preparations.

At his peak, Pillar was a solid everyday player, overcoming subpar offense with his strong glovework and baserunning. From 2015 to 2021, he got into 940 games for various clubs, hitting .261/.298/.412 for a wRC+ of 88. But he stole 91 bases in that stretch and was graded as an above-average center fielder, allowing him to produce 10 wins above replacement over those six full seasons plus the shortened 2020 campaign.

Since then, he’s been more of a role player. He can still play center field a little bit, though only sporadically and with grades closer to league average. He hit .225/.271/.387 in 185 games over the past three years for a wRC+ of 79, swiping another 16 bags.

Pillar has hit lefties better in his career, with a 106 wRC+ with the platoon advantage and a 78 without. That continued to be the case in 2024, with a 139 wRC+ against southpaws and a 54 mark otherwise. For any club looking for a right-handed hitting bench outfielder who can play competent defense and run the bases, Pillar is available and surely won’t cost much, after getting a $3MM guarantee from the White Sox in 2024.

Teams like the Red Sox, Orioles, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Tigers and others could be looking for right-handed bats to supplement their respective outfields. Pillar will join players like Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill, Randal Grichuk, Ramón Laureano, Austin Hays, Tommy Pham and others as righty-swinging outfielders that will be under consideration.

Diamondbacks Interested In Re-Signing Joc Pederson

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Free agent Joc Pederson is one of the better left-handed bats available and the Diamondbacks are interested in bringing him back, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal also mentions the Rays and Rangers as possible landing spots, though those seem more speculative, so it’s unclear to what degree those clubs are interested.

Pederson, 33 in April, is a limited player but does one thing very well. He doesn’t run well nor provide much of anything defensively. He’s also been a liability when a left-hander is on the mound, but he does crush righties.

Last winter, the Diamondbacks signed Pederson to a one-year deal with a $12.5MM guarantee. He got into 132 games for the Snakes this year but didn’t take the field at all. On account of his poor defensive track record, he was used exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter. Of his 449 plate appearances on the year, only 42 of them were against southpaws. He actually produced a strong .219/.405/.344 line and 124 wRC+ in that split thanks to a 16.7% walk rate, and in spite of a 42.9% strikeout rate. But for his career, he has a .210/.300/.330 line and a 76 wRC+ without the platoon advantage.

In his 407 plate appearances against righties this year, his strikeout rate was a far more palatable 21.4%. His 11.8% walk rate was quite a strong, a few ticks above league average. He also hit 22 home runs, which helped him produce a slash of .281/.392/.531 and a 154 wRC+.

Overall, Pederson hit .275/.393/.515 on the year for a 151 wRC+, the second of the past three years with very strong offensive production. He hit .274/.353/.521 with the Giants in 2022 for a 144 wRC+. San Francisco gave him a $19.65MM qualifying offer on the heels of that showing, which he accepted. His batting line dropped to .235/.348/.416 in 2023, for a 109 wRC+, but the Snakes may have had a hunch that was bad luck. His batting average on balls in play went from .310 in 2022 to .268 in 2023, despite his batted ball metrics staying strong. His BABIP corrected to .322 in 2024 and his overall offense climbed back up along with it.

Even with that unlucky dip last year, Pederson has still managed to produce a 135 wRC+ over the past three years combined. Among players with at least 1200 plate appearances in that time frame, that figure is one of the top 15 in the majors, just ahead of guys like José Ramírez, Matt Olson and Rafael Devers. Pederson’s deficiencies put limits on his ability to contribute, but he’s a huge difference maker at the plate. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $24MM contract as part of the annual Top 50 Free Agents post.

It’s understandable that the Diamondbacks would want Pederson back, as they saw first-hand what a huge impact he can make at the plate. General manager Mike Hazen has said that he expects the 2025 payroll to be in the same range as 2024. RosterResource currently projects the club for $149MM in spending next year, which is about $14MM shy of last year’s Opening Day figure. Re-signing Pederson would eat up most of that but trading some of Jordan Montgomery’s salary could perhaps create some extra wiggle room for further offseason moves.

For the Rays, they usually aren’t big players in free agency but it wouldn’t be unprecedented to do something like this. Just two years ago, they gave Zach Eflin a $40MM guarantee. RosterResource pegs them at $79MM for next year’s payroll, about $20MM shy of where they started 2024. That could give them some room to work with this offseason, depending on how their ongoing stadium uncertainty is going to impact their spending plans.

In terms of the roster construction, it would be a bit of a pivot for the Rays, as they usually place a high value on defensive versatility. The last time they had one player take more than 400 plate appearances as a designated hitter was Johnny Damon in 2011. But if they view Pederson as the best bat available in their price range, perhaps they would be willing to have him lock up the DH spot, at least against righties.

For the Rangers, as mentioned by Rosenthal, squaring up right-handed pitching was a struggle this year. They put up a collective line of .238/.304/.379 for a wRC+ of 95, putting them in the bottom third of the league. Installing Pederson in their lineup would be the most straightforward way of improving that line in 2025. The club didn’t have a strict designated hitter in 2024, so fitting Pederson in shouldn’t be too hard. 11 different players took at least 22 trips to the plate in that spot in 2024, with Wyatt Langford leading the pack with 105 plate appearances. Pederson’s presence would make it more difficult to spread around the DH time to so many guys, but it could be viewed as worth it, given how good he’s been at the plate recently.

Mets Among Teams Interested In Walker Buehler

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Walker Buehler has been among the most popular targets on the rotation market for teams seeking upside on short-term deals, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds the Mets to the growing list of teams with interest in the longtime Dodgers righty. Buehler has also reportedly drawn interest from the Braves, Yankees and even the low-payroll Athletics.

The Mets stand to lose three members of their 2024 rotation, with Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana all reaching free agency this offseason. They’ll also be without Christian Scott, their top pitching prospect who made his MLB debut in ’24, for most or all of the 2025 season after he underwent UCL surgery. The Mets already replenished some of those innings with last night’s agreement to sign veteran righty Frankie Montas to a two-year contract, but there’s a clear need for some additional help.

Buehler, 30, was once one of the National League’s most promising young pitchers but has seen that trajectory slowed by injuries. He pitched just 65 innings in 2022 and missed all of the 2023 season while recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career. His World Series heroics still loom large in the minds of most fans, but Buehler’s 2024 results on the whole were generally dismal. He totaled only 75 1/3 innings and did so with a 5.38 ERA and the worst rate stats of his career. Even in his first postseason appearance, the Padres roughed him up for six runs in five innings during the National League Division Series.

Buehler’s velocity was down nearly two miles per hour from its 2020 peak, while his 18.6% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate were way off from his prior career levels (27% and 6.3%, respectively). This past season’s paltry 8.2% swinging-strike rate ranked 190th out of the 204 big league pitchers who tossed at least 70 innings on the year. His career rate coming into the year had been a sharp 11.6%.

Whether Buehler can recapture some or all of his 2018-21 form is a question someone will pay a good bit of cash to find out. Over those four years, he combined to log a 2.82 earned run average in 564 innings, fanning 27.7% of opponents against a 6.1% walk while sitting in the upper 90s with his heater. That upside is tantalizing, but it’s also been three years and one major elbow surgery since we’ve seen that version of Buehler with any real consistency. The Dodgers could’ve made him a $21.05MM qualifying offer in hopes of keeping him but instead declined to make that offer. The lack of draft pick compensation hanging over Buehler’s head will surely enhance his appeal, but it’s also perhaps a red flag that the team that knows him best opted against that one-year offer (despite possessing some of the deepest pockets in MLB).

Buehler fits Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns’ ostensible preference for shorter-term deals that maintain roster flexibility. As Sherman points out, Stearns inked ten free agents last year during his first season in control of the Mets and only guaranteed a second year to Sean Manaea (whose contract gave him the right to opt out of that second year, which he ultimately chose to do). During his time as the Brewers’ president of baseball ops, Stearns similarly avoided the deep waters of the free agent market.

It’s still not fully clear whether that prior mentality will continue to drive his moves in Queens, however. The Brewers never had anywhere near the level of spending capacity the Mets possess, so it’s only natural that Stearns eschewed risky long-term commitments to free agents during his time in Milwaukee. And while he did so last offseason with the Mets, that was in part because the 2024 season was largely viewed as a transitional year while the Mets waited for dead money from the Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and James McCann deals (among a few smaller-scale examples) to come off the books.

The Mets are now about $150MM shy of their 2024 spending levels, per RosterResource. A notable portion of that is earmarked for a hopeful signing of Juan Soto, of course, but there’s no reason the Mets couldn’t take a more aggressive stance elsewhere in free agency and broker some lengthier and more impactful deals for starting pitchers.

What type of deals Buehler commands could ultimately boil down to personal preference. Sherman suggests there are clubs with interest on one-year arrangements and others open to the idea of multi-year deals with opt-out opportunities. Speculatively speaking, Buehler would appear best-positioned if he takes a deal that allows him to return to the market next winter, whether that’s a straight one-year pact or two years with an opt-out. Doing so could position him as a candidate for a nine-figure deal if he bounces back in 2025. However, if he wants to max out right now, there could conceivably be teams willing to offer medium-length contracts with lighter annual values than he’d receive on a straight one-year deal or on a two-year pact with an opt-out.

White Sox Expected To Retain Most Of 2024 Coaching Staff

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The White Sox are expected to officially announce their 2025 coaching staff within the next week, but Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the club will be retaining most of its incumbent coaches.  In terms of new faces, first-time manager Will Venable will be joined by bench coach Walker McKinven (whose hiring was reported by Venable two weeks ago), director of hitting Ryan Fuller, and a new assistant hitting coach whose identity has yet to be revealed.

Hitting coach Marcus Thames, pitching coach Ethan Katz, assistant pitching coach Matt Wise, first base coach Jason Bourgeois, third base coach Justin Jirschele, and catching coach Drew Butera are all expected to return.  Grady Sizemore will also return to the coaching staff after serving as Chicago’s interim manager when Pedro Grifol was fired in early August.  Interim bench coach Doug Sisson and interim assistant hitting coach Mike Gellinger won’t be returning to those roles, but are expected to take other jobs in the organization.

While the White Sox didn’t feel the need to entirely revamp the coaching staff in the wake of a 121-loss season, it should be noted that many of these coaches were already relative newcomers to the organization.  Thames, Wise, Bourgeois, and Butera were all hired just last offseason, and Jirschele was installed last August when former third base coach Eddie Rodriguez was also fired along with Grifol and former bench coach Charlie Montoyo.

There’s really nowhere to go but up for the White Sox in the wake of the worst season in modern baseball history, though Venable and his staff will have another long year ahead of them as the Sox continue their rebuild.  Obviously wins aren’t expected for now, as Venable and the coaches face the broader challenge of helping develop the team’s younger players and changing what reportedly became a toxic clubhouse culture.

Mets Re-Sign Grant Hartwig To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Grant Hartwig after non-tendering him last month, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. He’ll be in camp on as a non-roster invitee next spring.

Hartwig, 27 later this month, pitched for the Mets in both 2023 and 2024 but missed a notable portion of the ’24 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was limited to 6 2/3 innings, during which time he yielded five runs. In a total of 42 major league frames, Hartwig has a 5.14 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 46.5% ground-ball rate.

Hartwig’s performance in the minors is a bit more encouraging. He’s pitched to a 4.34 ERA in Triple-A while fanning nearly one quarter of his opponents and keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average clip. He sits just shy of 95 mph with his sinker, running the pitch up to 97 mph at times. The 6’5″, 235-pound righty still has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if he’s added back to the Mets’ 40-man roster at any point, he can be shuttled freely between Queens and Syracuse without needing to be exposed to waivers.

Astros Have Shown Interest In Jorge Polanco As Fallback At Third Base

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The Astros are focused on re-signing Alex Bregman but aren’t putting all of their eggs in that basket. They’ve been linked to Willy Adames — another likely nine-figure free agent — and have also checked in with a few contingency plans, including free agent Jorge Polanco, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Polanco, who’s coming off a down year in Seattle and underwent knee surgery in October, has typically been a middle infielder, first coming to the majors as a shortstop in Minnesota before moving over to second base due to defensive concerns. The 31-year-old does have a bit of experience at the hot corner, having logged a combined 180 innings there in two different seasons with the Twins (plus another 128 frames there as a minor leaguer). He played 103 innings at third base as recently as 2023 in Minnesota.

The 2024 season was a disaster for Polanco, who’s battled knee troubles for several seasons and saw those ongoing troubles culminate in offseason surgery. His lone year in Seattle produced a .213/.296/.355 slash in 118 games — a far cry from the combined .270/.338/.455 output Polanco posted in six years with the Twins from 2018-23. Polanco still cracked 16 home runs for the Mariners in 2024, but his strikeout rate spiked to a career-worst 29.2% and he posted some of the worst defensive grades of his career (-10 Outs Above Average).

Polanco underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee in early October. He’d previously had IL stints for that same knee in both 2023 and 2022, missing about seven weeks of action combined between the two instances. Given the recent knee struggles and ugly results in 2024, Polanco is likely ticketed for a one-year deal. At the very least, he’d be an affordable alternative to Bregman/Adames who could allow the ’Stros to perhaps spend elsewhere.

At this stage of his career, however, asking Polanco to hold down third base regularly feels like a stretch. He’ll turn 32 next July, is coming off that knee surgery and already ranks poorly in terms of arm strength on his throws in the infield, per Statcast. While throws from second base and third base can’t simply be compared in apples-to-apples fashion — throws from third base are inherently going to come in at a higher velocity — Polanco is well below average even when compared strictly to other second basemen; his average velocity ranked 48th among the 63 players who made at least 100 throws as a second baseman in 2024. Perhaps a healthier lower half will lead to better life on his throws moving forward, but the recent trends don’t bode well for a move to third base.

That said, it’s a pretty thin market at the hot corner this offseason — at least in free agency. Bregman is the clear top option, though some teams might prefer Adames, who’s reportedly willing to move off shortstop in the right setting. Virtually everyone beyond Bregman and Adames falls into the rebound candidate bucket, with Polanco joining names like Josh Rojas, Gio Urshela, Yoan Moncada, Brandon Drury and Luis Urias (among others). The trade market includes Alec Bohm and the pricier Nolan Arenado, to name a couple of the most prominent candidates.

The Opener: Mets, Cubs, QO Pitchers

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On the heels of an overnight signing, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:

1. What’s next for the Mets?

The Mets reportedly signed right-hander Frankie Montas to a two-year deal worth $34MM that includes an opt-out after the 2025 season yesterday. In doing so, they filled the first of three rotation spots that were vacated by the departures of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana in free agency. Montas, who struggled last year to a 4.84 ERA and 4.71 FIP in 150 2/3 innings of work between the Reds and Brewers, is hardly a surefire impact addition to their starting five but should eat innings at the back of the rotation with the upside to provide additional value — not unlike Manaea was viewed at the time of his deal with New York last year.

While the Mets are sure to remain zeroed in on Juan Soto, there’s little question that the club is going to continue to pursue rotation upgrades. Will president of baseball operations David Stearns and his front office use their financial might to land a surefire ace like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried, or does the club plan to operate similarly to last winter on the rotation market while focusing their largest additions on a lineup that stands at risk of losing Pete Alonso?

2. Is there more coming from the Cubs?

The Cubs entered the offseason surrounded by rumors they could look to add to the top of their rotation this winter, but they’ve subsequently reversed course to focus on middle tiers of the starting pitching market. That ostensible shift in focus seemingly led to today’s overnight deal for southpaw Matthew Boyd, who reportedly signed on with the club for $29MM over two years. The Cubs were generally expected to look to add players to their rotation and bullpen this winter while also searching for an upgrade behind the plate. They’ve at least nominally addressed all three of those positions already this winter by adding Boyd, Eli Morgan, and Matt Thaiss. Is there more coming from the Cubs, or does the remainder of their offseason hinge on working out a Cody Bellinger trade?

3. When will the market for QO starters heat up?

One quirk of the pitching market movement this winter is that it’s been focused exclusively on hurlers who aren’t attached to draft pick compensation. While many of the starters expected to land multi-year deals this winter received a qualifying offer last month, Montas and Boyd join Yusei Kikuchi and Blake Snell among the list of starters who did not. Some unencumbered free agents such as Jack Flaherty and Nathan Eovaldi remain, but the options on that front are dwindling. Will teams continue to shy away from qualified free agent starters until later in the offseason, or could the coming days spur some activity on the other side of the starting pitching market?

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