After 15 Major League seasons, Martin Maldonado is retiring from baseball. The 39-year-old catcher made the official announcement today via his Instagram page, thanking his family, the fans, teammates, coaches, and many others who helped him live his dream.
“Baseball, I was just four years old when I fell in love with you,” Maldonado said in his statement. “From the moment I first put on that catcher’s gear, I knew this game would be part of me forever. Every inning, every pitch, every moment behind the plate has been a blessing. For 34 years, I’ve had the honor of wearing that gear — and for the last 15, doing it at the highest level. Today, it’s time to hang them up and officially call it a career.”
The epitome of a glove-first catcher, Maldonado will retire with a career .203/.277/.343 slash line and 119 home runs over 4028 plate appearances and 1230 games in the majors. Despite the modest offensive output, Maldonado carved out a long career due to his defense and game-calling ability. Maldonado was renowned for his ability to work with pitchers, whether it was young arms just arriving in the big leagues or veteran hurlers who were set in their routines.
This ability earned Maldonado regular work on one of baseball’s most successful teams of recent years, as he played with the Astros for parts of the 2018-23 seasons. Initially a deadline pickup for Houston in 2018, Maldonado left for a free agent deal with the Royals that winter, but was re-acquired again by the Astros at the 2019 trade deadline. The Astros then locked Maldonado up on a two-year contract that winter, with another extension in April 2021 that ultimately added two more years to Maldonado’s time in Houston once he played enough in 2021 to trigger a vesting option.
With plenty of pop elsewhere in the lineup, the Astros were happy to focus on defense in the catcher’s position, with such other backstops as Jason Castro, Garrett Stubbs, Christian Vazquez, and eventual heir apparent Yainer Diaz all sharing time with Maldonado behind the plate. Maldonado’s tenure in Houston was highlighted by a championship ring in 2022 when the Astros captured the World Series.
A 27th-round pick for the Angels way back in the 2004 draft, Maldonado didn’t make his MLB debut until he appeared in three games with the Brewers in 2011. That cup of coffee marked the first of six seasons for Maldonado in a Milwaukee uniform, acting as a complement to regular catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The Brewers dealt Maldonado to the Angels in December 2016, and the 2017 season saw Maldonado earn starting catcher duties and win the only Gold Glove of his career.
Maldonado went from the highs of the Astros’ perpetual contention to the low of playing with the 121-loss White Sox in 2024, though Maldonado was released by the Sox in July of that year as the team was moving on to younger options. He signed a minor league contract with the Padres last winter and hit .204/.245/.327 in 161 PA and 64 Major League games in what ended up being his final season in the Show. The Padres designated Maldonado for assignment and released him in August, but re-signed him to a minor league deal in September. Maldonado even got one more taste of the playoffs when the Padres activated him for backup duty in their Wild Card Series against the Cubs, though Maldonado didn’t play during the three-game series.
Maldonado’s defensive metrics tended to swing from year to year, yet at various points in his career, he was one of baseball’s best at framing pitchers, blocking pitches in the dirt, and throwing out baserunners. In the latter category, Maldonado tossed out 188 of 663 runners (28.36%) attempting to steal. Maldonado finishes his career as a +17 in Fielding Run Value and with +57 Defensive Runs Saved.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Maldonado on a fine career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.