After being linked to him earlier in the offseason, the Chicago White Sox have officially reached an agreement with free agent catcher Martin Maldonado. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
Martin Maldonado to the White Sox. 1 year plus option. @ByRobertMurray reported close White Sox continue to improve the defense
As of this posting, the terms of the deal are not known.
The 37-year-old backstop just wrapped up his 13th year in the big leagues with the Astros, Cubs, Royals, Angels and Brewers. He was an integral part of the Astros for multiple iterations of their dynasty, playing for them in 2018 and then coming back for the back half 2019 until 2023. He helped Houston get to the World Series in 2019, 2021 and 2022, winning it in the latter year.
Never much at the plate, Maldonado is a lifetime .207 hitter who hit just .191 this past season for Houston. He did connect for 15 home runs, but his real value is in how he handles a pitching staff.
He’ll get plenty of chances to prove that with the Sox in 2024. The group finished fourth in the American League Central in 2023 and is set to give several young and unproven pitchers opportunity next season. The team has acquired Mike Soroka, Jared Shuster and Erik Fedde this offseason already.
In addition to helping develop the pitching staff, Maldonado will also be leaned on to help develop young catcher Korey Lee, who the team acquired last season at the trade deadline.
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