Report: White Sox nearing 1-year deal with veteran catcher Maldonado

The Chicago White Sox are nearing agreement on a contract with veteran catcher Martín Maldonado, sources told Robert Murray of FanSided.

Maldonado's deal will be for one year and will include an option for 2025, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. Financial terms are not yet known.

The 37-year-old will bring some much-needed veteran leadership behind the plate to a rebuilding White Sox squad. Maldonado is a glove-first catcher who's still regarded as one of baseball's premier game-callers, skills that can help him guide the team's young and inconsistent pitching staff in 2024.

He'll compete for playing time in Chicago with veteran Max Stassi, who was acquired from the Atlanta Braves earlier in December. Rookie signal-caller Korey Lee, who was briefly a teammate of Maldonado's with the Houston Astros before being traded to the White Sox at this year's deadline, is also on their 40-man roster.

Maldonado spent most of the last six seasons with the Astros, where he was a leader on their perennial playoff teams and helped them win a World Series title in 2022. Despite hitting 15 homers in 2023, he struggled overall, posting a .606 OPS in 407 plate appearances. Houston often removed him late in close games last year for Yainer Diaz, who will likely be the Astros' primary catcher going forward.

Maldonado's usually trusty glove also took a downturn last year. Normally an excellent framer, his minus-17 catcher framing runs were the worst among qualified catchers in 2023. However, he was still good at controlling baserunners, with a solid 1.93 pop time.

Over parts of 13 big-league seasons with five teams, Maldonado owns a .207/.382/.349 slash line with 111 homers and 361 RBIs. He won a Gold Glove in 2017 while playing for the Los Angeles Angels.