Martin Maldonado

Martin Maldonado Reportedly Drawing Interest From Several Teams

By Nick Deeds | November 11, 2023 at 7:29pm CDT

Veteran catcher Martin Maldonado has been a staple of the Astros lineup in recent years, joining the club as a part-time option behind the plate in deadline deals during both the 2018 and 2019 seasons before sticking in Houston as the club’s primary catcher for the 2020-23 campaigns. Now, however, the 37-year-old veteran is a free agent for the first time since the 2019-20 offseason as the Astros plan to pivot to youngster Yainer Diaz as their primary catcher for the 2024 season.

While Maldonado is out of the starting role in Houston, he’s already drawing plenty of interest on the open market per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who reports that “4-5 teams” have checked in on the veteran already this offseason. Presumably, one of those clubs is the Astros themselves, as the two sides reportedly have mutual interest in a reunion even as Maldonado would consequently take a smaller role with the club going forward in deference to Diaz.

A 27th-round pick by the Angels in the 2004 draft, Maldonado has never been particularly outstanding with the bat. Since making his major league debut with the Brewers back in 2011, Maldonado has never posted above average offensive numbers by measure of wRC+ in a 162-game season, though he did manage a 107 wRC+ during the shortened 2020 campaign. He fell back to Earth in the following three seasons, however, slashing just .183/.260/.333 (66 wRC+) with a 31.5% strikeout rate in 355 games. Despite those offensive deficiencies, however, has generally been regarded as among the best defensive catchers in the game throughout his career.

That stellar defense took a major hit in 2023, as Statcast placed Maldonado in the first percentile among all catchers with -18 framing runs this season, after years of the metric regarding him as slightly below average at pitch framing, with -1 to -2 framing runs per year. Those iffy framing numbers were more than made up for in the past by Maldonado’s throwing arm behind the plate and blocking abilities, but those metrics dipped in 2023 as well. While the differences were only slight, they exacerbated his struggles with pitch framing in 2023 to leave him worth -1.2 fWAR this season, a bottom-five figure in the majors among players with at least 300 plate appearances this season.

Dire as those numbers look, it’s still reasonable that the Astros and other teams would have interest in Maldonado’s services next year. After all, he’s clearly well-respected as a game-caller who does a good job with a pitching staff, considering Houston’s pitching staff is second to only the Dodgers with a 3.63 ERA since Maldonado took over as the club’s primary catcher in 2020 despite ranking 10th in xFIP and 11th in SIERA over that same period of time. What’s more, a deal with Maldonado would surely be a short-term, low-cost affair given his age and difficult platform season.

Those factors could make Maldonado an attractive back-up option for teams in need of a one-year solution behind the plate, particularly for those with a young catcher who could benefit from an experienced mentor to share time with. Speculatively speaking, the Brewers, Rays, Marlins, and White Sox all have a need behind the plate this offseason, with the White Sox in particular likely to dedicate time to former Astro Korey Lee behind the plate in 2024. Lee, 25, has just 36 games of experience at the big league level and has worked with Maldonado previously, as the duo shared time behind the plate during Lee’s first big league cup of coffee in 2022.

Astros Notes: Payroll, Rotation, Maldonado, Neris

By Steve Adams | November 9, 2023 at 1:39pm CDT

The Astros advanced to their seventh consecutive League Championship Series in 2023 but fell shy of a third straight World Series bid when the division-rival and eventual World Series Champion Rangers knocked them off in a thrilling seven-game series. They’ll head into the winter with a trio of notable relievers hitting free agency (Hector Neris, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek) and with a rotation that’s a bit thinned out by to injuries of Lance McCullers Jr. (flexor tendon surgery) and Luis Garcia (Tommy John surgery). Veteran Michael Brantley is also returning to the open market.

Despite a plethora of needs up and down the roster, general manager Dana Brown openly acknowledged at this week’s GM Meetings that his team doesn’t “have a ton” of financial flexibility heading into the offseason (link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). That’s unwelcome news for ’Stros fans, though Brown suggested that if the right situation presented itself, owner Jim Crane might push beyond his current comfort levels.

As it stands, strong rookie performances from the likes of Hunter Brown and J.P. France give Houston a quality group of six starters on which to lean. Reacquired ace Justin Verlander, lefty Framber Valdez and righties Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy round out the rotation options.

Verlander will pitch next season at 41, however, while Valdez and Javier faltered a bit as the year wore on; Javier’s rotation spot was skipped a couple times over the summer as he labored through mixed results, while Valdez turned in a pedestrian 4.64 ERA over his final 99 innings before being rocked for 12 earned runs in 12 postseason frames. Urquidy spent several months on the injured list and turned in 73 innings of 5.30 ERA ball between the regular season and playoffs combined.

The depth beyond those six is more concerning. Righties Shawn Dubin and Brandon Bielak both had rough showings in Triple-A. The latter tossed 80 innings of 3.83 ball in the big leagues but did so with a 10.2% walk rate, 17.6% strikeout rate and too many home runs allowed (1.35 HR/9) to necessarily bank on a repeat. Former top prospect Forrest Whitley, also on the 40-man roster, posted a 5.70 ERA in 30 Triple-A frames.

Brown indicated to reporters that he’d be open to opportunities to add “a legit third starter or better.” Logically speaking, doing so without radically increasing the payroll would likely require operating on the trade market rather than in free agency. It sounds as though that’s viewed more as a luxury than a priority anyhow; McCullers and Garcia are expected back sometime in July, and Brown instead called the bullpen and backup catcher “priorities.”

To that end, it’s perhaps not surprising to hear that the ’Stros and longtime catcher Martin Maldonado could continue their relationship. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that the two parties have mutual interest in a reunion, adding that Brown has already met with Maldonado’s agent, Dan Lozano, during this week’s GM Meetings. The Astros have publicly declared that Yainer Diaz will be their primary catcher in 2024, but as Brown himself spelled out, adding an experienced backup is a goal.

Houston has stuck with Maldonado for four and a half years despite the fact that he’s perhaps been MLB’s least-productive hitter during that time. Over the past three seasons in particular, Maldonado has been a liability at the dish. In 1212 plate appearances since 2021, he’s turned in a .183/.260/.333 — about 34% worse than league average by measure of wRC+. However, the Astros are enamored of Maldonado’s game-calling, game-planning and broad defensive skills. Maldonado ranks among the game’s best at blocking pitches in the dirt over the past four years, although his framing skills fell off a cliff in 2023 and his caught-stealing rate has steadily declined.

Houston clearly loves Maldonado’s work with their pitching staff, however, and the organization would surely welcome him working in a mentor role to Diaz, whom they hope can cement himself as the catcher of the future. Add in that a new deal with Maldonado in a reduced role would undoubtedly be a low-cost arrangement, and it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see them hammer something out. Maldonado earned $5MM in 2022 and $4.5MM last year.

Maldonado isn’t the only former Astro who’s on the radar. Via Rome, Brown acknowledged that he’s also spoken with Neris’ representatives at Octagon about a new deal, though there’s no indication a new deal is close to fruition. Neris turned down an $8.5MM player option and although he’s 34 years old will quite likely be able to secure a multi-year pact on the open market this winter after turning in a sub-2.00 ERA in his second season with Houston.

Turning to a pair of Astros icons, both Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman are entering the final year of their contracts. Brown has been forthcoming about his desire to make the pair lifelong Astros, but agent Scott Boras — who represents both players — said at this week’s meetings that contract talks have not yet begun (link via Kawahara).

Astros fans will want to check out the pieces from both Kawahara and Rome in full, as they’re rife with refreshingly straightforward answers from Brown — the type of candor that many of his peers throughout the league generally shy away from offering. Beyond acknowledging priorities in the bullpen and behind the plate as well as interest in bolstering the rotation, Brown suggested that outfield won’t be a primary focus this offseason, given the presence of Kyle Tucker, Chas McCormick, Yordan Alvarez, Mauricio Dubon and Jake Meyers. That doesn’t expressly rule out an addition — unexpected opportunities on the trade market, for instance, could always arise — but it doesn’t seem that’s a hot-button issue for the Astros at the moment.

Astros Notes: Garcia, Urquidy, Altuve, Diaz

By Steve Adams | May 3, 2023 at 12:36pm CDT

The Astros formally placed righty Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list yesterday, as was expected after he departed his most recent start due to elbow discomfort and underwent an MRI. Lefty Matt Gage is up from Triple-A in his place. Manager Dusty Baker told reporters prior to yesterday’s game that Garcia is getting a second opinion on the MRI but declined to go into any further specifics (Twitter link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Additional information on the right-hander should be available as soon as this weekend, per the team’s skipper.

Garcia, 26, threw just eight pitches before exiting his most recent start. His fastball was clocked at an average of 91.7 mph — a good bit south of his 93 mph average in five prior starts this season and even further off the 94.1 mph he averaged in 2022. In those prior starts with the ’Stros this year, he’d pitched to a 4.00 ERA with a strong 27% strikeout rate against an 8.7% walk rate. His fourth and fifth starts were particularly impressive, as Garcia rattled off 13 scoreless innings with a 16-to-3 K/BB ratio in victories over the Blue Jays and Rays.

For now, the Astros can expect to be without Garcia for at least two weeks, but the MRI, second opinion and current lack of details will understandably make some Houston fans rather uneasy. News on fellow right-hander Jose Urquidy is at least a bit more promising. He’ll be shut down from throwing for the next 10 days, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, but an MRI revealed only inflammation near Urquidy’s shoulder and armpit. The right-hander himself doesn’t believe the injury to be particularly serious, McTaggart adds, so a return later this month seems plausible.

That’d be welcome news for an Astros club that now has Garcia, Urquidy and Lance McCullers Jr. on the 15-day injured list. At present, the only healthy starters on Houston’s big league roster are Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and rookie Hunter Brown. Long reliever Brandon Bielak could be an option to start, and the club also has right-handers Forrest Whitley, Shawn Dubin and J.P. France on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A.

There’s some brighter news with regard to Jose Altuve, who met with reporters today and revealed that he’s fielded ground-balls on each of the past two days (video link via McTaggart). Altuve, who underwent surgery to repair a fractured thumb sustained during the World Baseball Classic, isn’t yet swinging a bat and won’t have a clear timetable on a potential return until he’s able to do so. Fielding grounders is still a notable step in the All-Star second baseman’s return, as that marks the first baseball activity in which he’s participated since the surgery. Altuve raved about Mauricio Dubon’s play in his absence but emphasized that he’s anxious to get back on the field as soon as possible.

Dubon isn’t the only (relative) newcomer who’s contributed in the first month of the season. Catcher Yainer Diaz hasn’t played all that frequently, with Martin Maldonado still receiving the lion’s share of playing time — but Diaz has impressed when on the field. He’s turned in a .258/.306/.355 batting line in 36 plate appearances and, much more impressively, thrown out five of ten runners who’ve attempted to steal against him.

Diaz’s play thus far has already caught the attention of first-year Astros general manager Dana Brown, who said in an appearance with Sean Salisbury on SportsTalk 790 AM that he increasingly looks like a long-term piece of the puzzle in Houston.

“Looking like he’s going to be the future for us behind the plate,” Brown said when asked for his early impressions of Diaz this season. “…He’s learning a lot under the tutelage of [Maldonado]. I’m sure at some point he’ll be mixed into the lineup a little bit more, but he’s coming along nicely. He threw those two guys out [yesterday] — bullets down to second base. That was very encouraging. He’s a bright light for us, no doubt.”

Maldonado, 36, is signed through the current season and is highly regarded by Baker and the team’s coaching staff for his defensive prowess, work with pitchers and general game-calling/game-planning abilities, but he’s also hitting just .162/.250/.235 in 77 plate appearances. An eventual uptick in at-bats for Diaz could serve as a soft audition for the starting role in 2024 and beyond, although the organization has made its fondness for Maldonado quite clear, so it’s always possible he ends up signing back for another season. Regardless, Diaz seems to be earning a role on the club and, as evidenced by his status as one of the game’s top 100 prospects at both Baseball America (No. 75) and FanGraphs (No. 80), there are quite a few in the industry who believe he’s capable of eventually emerging as Houston’s starting catcher.

AL West Notes: Maldonado, deGrom, Bleday

By Mark Polishuk | February 18, 2023 at 9:24pm CDT

Martin Maldonado played through a sports hernia and a broken hand for the latter part of the 2022 season, toughing it out to remain on the field and help the Astros win a championship. As a result, Maldonado admitted that he “felt a little sad” that the Astros looked at Willson Contreras and other available catchers this offseason. “We just won the World Series and I felt like I sacrificed my whole body playing through injuries for the team….But I understand the business,” Maldonado told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters. “I know as an owner, as a front office, they’re going to try to always get the best position players available and help the team get better. Willson was the best free-agent catcher out there.”

Maldonado has rarely hit much over his 12 MLB seasons, but he is beloved within the Astros clubhouse for his defense and ability to work with pitchers. A new addition doesn’t appear to be coming for now, leaving Maldonado atop Houston’s depth chart and youngsters Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz competing for the backup catching job. Maldonado’s health situation certainly spurred the Astros’ acquisition of Christian Vazquez at the trade deadline, but if Houston has any lingering feelings that an upgrade is necessary behind the plate, they’re certainly still a team to watch on the trade market throughout the season.

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

By Darragh McDonald | February 9, 2023 at 7:30pm CDT

The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

The Astros Still Need To Add Behind The Plate

By Darragh McDonald | January 3, 2023 at 4:14pm CDT

The Astros have been connected to various catchers this offseason. They had reported interest in free agents Willson Contreras, Christian Vázquez and Tucker Barnhart and also contacted the A’s to explore a trade of Sean Murphy. However, they missed on all of those targets, as those free agents have since found new teams and Murphy was dealt to the Braves.

Things have been fairly quiet for a while now, as their interest in Barnhart was reported back on December 7 and little mention of their plans behind the plate since. It would stand to reason that they still need to be on the lookout for upgrades, however, as their current catching corps is noticeably weaker than last year.

In 2022, the Astros began the season with Jason Castro as the backup to Martín Maldonado. Castro got into 34 games by the end of June but hit the injured list in early July with knee discomfort. He would later require season-ending surgery and then announced his retirement in December. The Astros acquired Vázquez at the deadline to help them down the stretch, though he reached free agency at season’s end and has since signed with the Twins.

With Castro and Vázquez out of the picture, that leaves Maldonado as the clear top option on the depth chart. He’s now 36 years old, turning 37 in August, and just underwent sports hernia surgery in November. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training, but there’s obviously risk with a club’s primary catcher being on the older side. Though Maldonado is well regarded as a game-caller and leader of a pitching staff, he doesn’t rank very well in objective statistical measures. He’s been a below-average hitter in each season of his career apart from the shortened 2020 campaign, leading to an overall batting line of .209/.285/.349. That production has been about 28% below league average, with his wRC+ coming in at 72. However, the Astros seem to be perfectly comfortable living with that tepid offense in order to get Maldonado’s other qualities in the dugout and clubhouse.

In July, there was a one-month period where Castro was out and Vázquez had not yet been acquired. In that window, the club promoted prospect Korey Lee. Going into 2022, Lee was considered the club’s top prospect, with shortstop Jeremy Peña coming in second. That high ranking came on the heels of a strong 2021 that saw Lee go from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in his age-22 season.

Unfortunately, 2022 didn’t go as smooth for Lee. He got into 12 MLB games in the month of July but hit just .160/.192/.240. That’s a tiny sample and he was still quite young, turning 24 years old that month. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he did hit 25 home runs, but in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His .238/.307/.483 batting line was actually 10% below league average in that environment, with his wRC+ finishing at 90. Perhaps most concerning is that he struck out in 28.5% of his plate appearances, a huge jump from his previous stops in the minors. Baseball America dropped him to #6 on their most recent list of Houston prospects. It’s still possible that he’s the club’s catcher of the future, as he won’t turn 25 until July, but he might still need a bit more time in the minors to continue developing.

The only other catcher on the club’s 40-man roster is Yainer Díaz, who’s 2022 was essentially the inverse of Lee’s. Díaz went from being considered by BA to be the club’s #16 prospect at the beginning of the year to #2 by midseason. With a bat-first reputation, Díaz put that on display last year. Beginning 2022 in Double-A, he hit .316/.367/.504 for a wRC+ of 121 in 57 games and got promoted to Triple-A. At that new level, he hit .294/.342/.587 in 48 games for yet another wRC+ of 121. He was able to make his major league debut late in the year but didn’t hit much in just six games. That offensive production is certainly encouraging, but his defense isn’t as highly rated. He spent some significant time at first base and in the outfield corners in order to get his bat into the lineup last year. It’s arguable that he doesn’t need much more time in the minors from an offensive perspective, but he’s also only played 48 Triple-A games. Since he’s still just 24 and his defense is a work in progress, more time in the minors wouldn’t be a ridiculous proposition either.

The Astros showed last year that they’re not afraid to rely on a young and unproven player on Opening Day. Going into 2022, they replaced Carlos Correa with Jeremy Peña, who had no major league experience yet. That was certainly risky, but it worked out for the club, with Peña having a very good season and eventually winning World Series MVP. However, that kind of rookie breakout isn’t something that can simply be relied upon. As it currently stands, the club has a 36-year-old starter who doesn’t hit much and is coming off surgery, followed by two youngsters who each have tiny bits of MLB experience and arguably still need regular playing time in the minors.

The club is surely aware that it needs to do something, based on their interest in other backstops this winter. But most of the best options are off the board now, which leaves the Astros looking at Gary Sánchez, Roberto Pérez and Jorge Alfaro as some the top names still available. Those players each have their merits but are considered a tier below guys like Contreras, Vázquez or Murphy.

None of those players will likely require more than a one-year deal, so it’s possible that 2023 is sort of a wait-and-see year behind the plate in Houston. Maldonado is also a free agent after the upcoming season, so perhaps the club can ride with him and another veteran for the year, with either Lee or Díaz hopefully taking over and securing the job for 2024. The Astros still have a very strong roster, as they are the defending champions and have added José Abreu to replace Yuli Gurriel in their thunderous lineup. Justin Verlander has departed for the Mets but the rotation should still be in good shape without him. Despite the club’s strengths, their division looks much more challenging than it did a year ago, as the Mariners had a breakout year in 2022 while the Angels and Rangers have each been very active in upgrading their rosters this offseason. For the Astros, the catching corps stands out as the one weak spot on their roster and should still be addressed before they begin their title defense.

Martin Maldonado Undergoes Sports Hernia Surgery

By Anthony Franco | November 16, 2022 at 9:13pm CDT

The Astros announced catcher Martín Maldonado underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia yesterday. He’s expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training.

In the hours after Houston won the World Series, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported the veteran backstop was likely to undergo hernia surgery. Rosenthal also reported that Maldonado fractured a bone in his throwing hand in August. He played through both injuries, and Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets he’ll rehab that without going under the knife.

Maldonado was banged up late in the season, but that didn’t stop him from assuming the lion’s share of playing time behind the dish. Even after bringing in Christian Vázquez via trade, Houston turned to Maldonado as the primary catcher. He eventually topped 90 games on the season, triggering a $4.5MM vesting option in his contract for 2023.

The 36-year-old provides very little offensively, and that was the case again in 2022. Maldonado connected on a career-high 15 home runs but only mustered a .186/.248/.352 line over 379 plate appearances. He’s extraordinarily highly-regarded as a game-caller and leader of the pitching staff, though, and the Astros have proven willing to overlook Maldonado’s offensive shortcomings in recognition of his unquantifiable skills.

Houston could turn back to Maldonado as their primary catcher next year, although they’ve also been tied to possible upgrades. They’ve been linked to the top free agent backstop, Willson Contreras, in multiple reports through the offseason’s first week-plus.

The Opener: Diaz, Injuries, Rule 5

By Nick Deeds | November 7, 2022 at 8:01am CDT

With the World Series in the rear-view and the offseason officially underway, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on today:

1. Edwin Diaz Sets Records With New Mets Pact

The first major signing of the offseason occurred yesterday evening, with the Mets re-signing star closer Edwin Diaz to a massive five-year, $102MM contract. Diaz now becomes the first relief pitcher to ever secure a nine-figure deal, and the first with a deal of an average annual value north of $20MM. Diaz secured that contract by having a platform season for the ages, throwing 62 innings to a 1.31 ERA and a mind-boggling 0.90 FIP. While the Mets have plenty more to do in rebuilding the bullpen as Trevor May, Seth Lugo, and Mychal Givens depart for free agency, the Diaz re-signing serves as an important first step in that process. The record-setting contract also serves as a reminder of owner Steve Cohen’s willingness to flex financial muscle, which will be important as the Mets look to re-sign or replace players such as Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, and Brandon Nimmo this offseason.

2. World Series Teams Examine Injuries

Though the 2022 World Series is now a thing of the past, the participants must now turn their focus to the injuries they suffered throughout the season that had been ignored in favor of playing through the postseason run. Most notable among these, of course, is Bryce Harper, who suffered UCL damage in May, with surgery this offseason a possibility. For the World Series champion Astros, three players have injuries to worry about entering the offseason: Alex Bregman suffered a broken finger late in Game 6 on Saturday, Yuli Gurriel missed Game 6 after a sprain to his MCL, and Martin Maldonado played through both a broken hand and a sports hernia this postseason, the latter of which will require surgery according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Bregman’s injury has the least question marks surrounding it, as he will reportedly be ready for Spring Training in 2023. More details could be announced regarding the rest of these injuries in the coming days.

3. Rule 5 Draft Protection Deadline Looms

As Mark Polishuk noted in his offseason preview, the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft is November 15th this year. Seeing as there was no R5 draft last offseason, teams will likely have more players to protect than usual, which could lead to roster crunches across baseball. This could also lead to some players getting cut from 40-man rosters a few days ahead of November 18th’s non-tender deadline, and some minor trades such as yesterday’s Sam Hilliard deal between the Rockies and Braves. Overall, with these dates being earlier on the offseason calendar, fans should expect a larger quantity of winter moves to happen in this first week of the offseason than in recent years, though said moves won’t necessarily be at the top of the free agent market.

Martin Maldonado Reaches Vesting Option Threshold

By Anthony Franco | August 23, 2022 at 8:30pm CDT

Astros catcher Martín Maldonado appeared in his 90th game of the season on Sunday. That marked a notable milestone for the veteran backstop, as he reached the vesting threshold in his contract in the process. Maldonado is now officially under contract for 2023. While reports had initially pegged the option value at $5MM, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle wrote over the weekend that Maldonado’s salary will actually check in at $4.5MM.

Maldonado, who turned 36 last week, will return to Houston for a sixth straight year. Acquired from the division-rival Angels for Patrick Sandoval at the 2018 trade deadline, Maldonado finished out the season in Houston. He signed with the Royals the ensuing offseason and was traded to the Cubs. Houston reacquired him from Chicago a couple weeks later, and he’s remained an Astro since then on a series of contract extensions.

The most recent of those pacts came last April, when Houston signed the MVP Sports Group client to a $5MM guarantee for the 2022 season with the ’23 vesting provision. Manager Dusty Baker penciled him into the lineup on 118 occasions last season, and he’s gotten the nod 88 times so far this year (with a few appearances off the bench tipping him above the vesting threshold). Maldonado has continued to assume the lion’s share of the playing time even after the Astros acquired Christian Vázquez from the Red Sox at this summer’s trade deadline. Maldonado has gotten 13 starts since that trade while Vázquez has been behind the dish on eight occasions.

Baker’s commitment to Maldonado as the starting backstop reflects the organization’s belief he’s an integral member of the run prevention unit. The righty has never been an effective hitter, and he owns just a .181/.245/.351 line across 305 plate appearances this season. Vázquez has a far more productive .288/.330/.423 showing at the dish, but the Astros have long maintained that Maldonado’s impact behind the plate far outweighs his underwhelming showing at it.

In prior years, that’s been supported by public defensive metrics. Maldonado routinely rated as a upper echelon pitch framer and received strong overall marks from Defensive Runs Saved throughout the prime of his career. That hasn’t been the case of late, as he’s rated as an average to slightly below-average framer through the past four seasons. He’s thrown out a solid but not spectacular 28.2% of attempted base-stealers this season (11 of 39), and his overall defensive statistics come out right around league average.

There’s no established way to quantify a catcher’s ability to manage a pitching staff or call a game, however. The Astros have long argued Maldonado is elite in those intangible aspects, and their continued commitment both to keeping him on the roster and in the regular lineup reflects that conviction. With Vázquez headed for free agency at the end of the season and a strong candidate for a multi-year deal and a starting job elsewhere, it seems likely Maldonado will again be Houston’s primary backstop in 2023.

The Astros have gotten a limited look at well-regarded prospect Korey Lee this season. The former first-rounder may be the organization’s catcher of the future, but he’s stumbled to a .217/.285/.417 line over 78 games with Triple-A Sugar Land. The only other backstop on the 40-man roster, Jason Castro, is out for the season and headed for free agency. Houston seems likely to look to the waiver wire or lower tiers of free agency for catching help this winter, although any target will probably be a veteran complement to Maldonado rather than someone who’ll bump him out of the primary lineup.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Vesting Options Update: Flexen, Maldonado, Carrasco, Andrus

By Anthony Franco | August 9, 2022 at 5:53pm CDT

Major league contracts cannot be made conditional on player performance metrics, but it is permissible for clubs and teams to agree to options dependent upon playing time. Things such as innings pitched, plate appearances or (less frequently) games started or finished are all possible goals that could allow a player to trigger either additional guarantees or the right to opt out of an otherwise guaranteed contract. It’s also permissible to tie vesting provisions to a player’s finish in award voting, as we’ll see with the final player on this list.

This year, there are seven players whose 2023 contract status is tied directly to their playing time and/or awards finishes on the season. With a couple months left in the schedule, it’s worth checking in to see how they’re progressing towards those thresholds.

Already Vested

Carlos Rodón, SP, Giants

Rodón already reached the 110-inning threshold necessary to trigger his vesting provision last month. That affords him the right to opt out of the final year and $22.5MM remaining on his deal with San Francisco, and the Boras Corporation client is sure to do just that. Rodón has backed up his 2021 breakout with another elite season. He carries a 2.95 ERA across 128 1/3 innings, striking out an elite 31.2% of batters faced while sitting in the 95-96 MPH range with his fastball. The 29-year-old should receive the long-term deal that eluded him last winter, as he’s now pushing 50 starts of ace-level performance over the past two seasons and has put last summer’s shoulder soreness further in the rearview mirror.

Justin Verlander, SP, Astros

As with Rodón, Verlander has already hit his vesting threshold. The future Hall of Famer needed to hit 130 innings on the season to kick in a $25MM player option for next year, a milestone he reached last week. Barring injury, he’s going to pass up on that sum and test the open market. Despite being in his age-39 season, the nine-time All-Star has returned to the top of the Houston rotation after losing virtually all of 2020-21 to Tommy John surgery recovery. He owns an MLB-best 1.73 ERA across 130 frames, positioning himself as a strong contender for a third career Cy Young award. Verlander’s swing-and-miss rates aren’t quite at his pre-surgery peak, but that shouldn’t be much of a concern given his track record and continued dominance without an elite strikeout rate. The ISE Baseball client could look to top former teammate Max Scherzer’s $43.333MM average annual salary and shoot for an all-time record — particularly if he’s willing to accept two guaranteed years instead of holding out for a three-year deal that takes him through his age-42 season.

Should Be Imminently Reached

Chris Flexen, SP, Mariners

Flexen signed a two-year, $4.75MM guarantee upon coming over from the Korea Baseball Organization during the 2020-21 offseason. The deal contained a $4MM club option for the 2023 campaign but afforded Flexen the opportunity to override that with an $8MM salary based on his number of innings pitched. (MLBTR recently confirmed that Flexen’s vesting provision would guarantee his 2023 salary but does not afford him an opt-out clause after this season). The righty could reach that marker by tallying either 150 innings in 2022 or 300 combined frames from 2021-22.

As MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald noted yesterday, Flexen is soon to reach the latter threshold. He worked 179 2/3 frames last season, leaving him with 120 1/3 innings to tally this year. Through 21 starts, the 28-year-old has worked 117 frames. He needs just 3 1/3 more innings and should officially hit the threshold during his next start (or within two starts at the latest) barring an immediate season-ending injury. The Mariners, for their part, should be perfectly content to keep Flexen around for a reasonable $8MM. He’s been a durable source of roughly league average innings, posting an ERA of 3.73 since landing in the Pacific Northwest. Flexen doesn’t miss many bats, but he’s avoided the injured list and thrown plenty of strikes. He’s a perfectly fine back-of-the-rotation arm for a team with a spacious home ballpark and a strong defense behind him, and Seattle’s 2023 payroll slate is plenty reasonable.

Martín Maldonado, C, Astros

Last April, the Astros preemptively kept Maldonado from getting to the open market after the 2021 season. They signed him to a $5MM pact for 2022, and the deal contained a matching vesting provision for the following year. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle was among those to report that Maldonado would lock in the $5MM salary for 2023 if he appeared in 90 games during the ’22 campaign.

Heading into play Tuesday, Maldonado has gotten into 82 contests. The 35-year-old (36 next week) has continued to pick up the bulk of the playing time even after Houston acquired Christian Vázquez from the Red Sox just before the trade deadline. Maldonado has been behind the dish for four of Houston’s six games since August 2, with Vázquez picking up the other two starts. Maldonado should get to the 90-game threshold with ease (again, barring imminent injury), likely within about two weeks.

Vázquez is ticketed for free agency after the season, so Maldonado should hold onto his primary catching job next year. It’s possible the Astros bring in a 1B complement, particularly with prospect Korey Lee struggling at Triple-A, but it seems they’ll be content to turn things over to Maldonado for a fourth straight season. The veteran has always been one of the game’s worst hitters, and that’s continued this season. He owns a .183/.244/.357 line across 278 plate appearances. He’s hitting for a bit more power than usual but posting one of his worst years from an on-base perspective. He’s also rated as a below-average defender this year in the estimation of public metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s pitch framing.

The Astros have maintained that Maldonado’s game-calling acumen and ability to handle a pitching staff is elite, however. That’s not going to show up on his statistical ledger, but the organization has backed up those assertions by continuing to pencil Maldonado into the lineup on most days. They’ve got no shortage of offensive firepower elsewhere around the diamond. Maldonado’s poor numbers haven’t stopped the team from racing to 30 games above .500, and they’ve had arguably baseball’s top pitching staff. One can debate how much credit Maldonado deserves for that, but he’s probably bringing some amount of on-field value that’s not quantifiable.

Attainable But Borderline

Carlos Carrasco, SP, Mets

Carrasco has a $14MM club option for next season on a contract extension he initially signed with Cleveland over the 2018-19 offseason. That option becomes guaranteed if he throws 170 innings in 2022 and is expected to be healthy for the following season, according to an Associated Press report. Carrasco can’t officially lock in the latter designation until the end of the year, as he’ll presumably need to pass a physical at the start of the offseason.

He can work towards the first goal, however. Carrasco enters play Tuesday with 117 2/3 innings across 21 starts. That leaves him 52 1/3 frames short with a little less than two months to go. The 35-year-old has averaged around 5.6 innings per start to this point in the season. At that rate, he’ll need to make between nine and ten more outings, which he’s right on track to hit by the end of the year. New York has 52 games left in the regular season, putting them on pace to go through a five-man rotation about ten more times. Even a brief injured list stint would probably prevent Carrasco from getting to 170 frames, but he’s on pace thus far.

Of course, it’s not a guarantee he’d hit free agency at the end of the year if he doesn’t trigger the vesting threshold. The Mets would still retain his services via club option, and it’s possible they’d exercise it anyhow. They’re over $280MM in 2022 payroll, so a $14MM salary isn’t all that burdensome. After an injury-plagued first season in Queens, the well-respected Carrasco has bounced back with a nice year. He owns a 3.82 ERA with slightly better than average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates. If he finishes the year healthy and remains generally productive, the Mets probably keep him around regardless.

Elvis Andrus, SS, Athletics

The A’s, on the other hand, aren’t likely to want anything to do with Andrus’ option. The veteran shortstop’s extension with the Rangers contained a $15MM club option for 2023. That’d become a player option if Andrus were both traded (as he was, from Texas to Oakland) and tallies 550 plate appearances in 2022.

Andrus has hit 366 times thus far, leaving him 184 plate appearances shy of the marker. The A’s have 52 games remaining, so Andrus needs to tally around 3.54 plate appearances per game from here on out. He’s averaged 3.66 PA’s per game through the season’s first few months, so he’s on pace to reach the mark. If Andrus continued at his current pace, he’d reach approximately 556 plate appearances at year’s end. If the A’s are intent on avoiding that situation, they could mix in a couple more off days over the next two months to prevent him from getting there.

Deliberately curbing playing time to prevent a player from reaching a vesting threshold would be grounds for a grievance filing against the team. The rebuilding A’s could point to a desire to get 23-year-old Nick Allen more regular run at shortstop as an on-field justification, even as Allen has struggled mightily through his early stint in the major leagues. If Andrus misses the vesting threshold by just a handful of plate appearances, it’s certain to raise some eyebrows around the league and in the offices of the MLBPA. There’s little question Andrus — owner of a serviceable .241/.303/.372 line on the season — is one of the nine best position players on the last-place club. Yet he wouldn’t receive $15MM on the open market and would definitely trigger the option if it vests, likely counting for more than a quarter of the A’s bottom-of-the-barrel player payroll next season if that occurs.

Not Happening

Justin Turner, 3B/DH, Dodgers

The Dodgers re-signed the ever-productive Turner to a two-year, $34MM guarantee during the 2020-21 offseason. The deal contains a $16MM club option for 2023 that would vest at $20MM if Turner finishes in the top ten in MVP balloting this season. It’d vest at $17.5MM if he finishes between 11th and 15th in MVP balloting (report via Bob Nightengale of USA Today).

Turner overcame a very slow start with an excellent month of July that pushed his season line up to .257/.332/.405 through 355 plate appearances. He’s having a solid year, but it’s his worst season since he landed in Southern California back in 2014. Turner certainly isn’t going to get legitimate MVP support. Would the Dodgers exercise the option regardless as he heads into his age-38 season? That feels unlikely, but perhaps Turner could play his way into it with a strong stretch run and postseason after returning from an abdominal strain that currently has him on the injured list.

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