3 Houston Astros who won't be back after disappointing ALCS loss to Rangers
By Mark Powell
Houston Astros who won't be back: Martin Maldonado
Dusty Baker and the Astros view Martin Maldonado as another member of their pitching staff, so it makes sense that he hits under the mendoza line on a regular basis. Maldonado is not capable with a bat in his hands. He'd be better served as a bench coach at this point in his career unless he takes this offseason as an opportunity to improve.
“He’s my field general,” Baker told Yahoo Sports earlier this season. “Yainer right now is at West Point learning war strategy, whereas Maldy’s already been at war.”
It's fair to suggest Diaz wasn't ready to take the reigns as Houston's full-time catcher, but by this time next year, it's tough to see Maldonado as the full timer at the position rather than his younger counterpart.
“I think there are a lot of intangibles that go into the catching position — and every position on a baseball roster — but in the catching discipline in particular that don't get measured,” Astros pitching coach Josh Miller said. “It's not easy to put a metric on: How does he instill confidence? How does he let a pitcher relax so they can focus on executing a pitch, rather than thinking about what pitch they should be throwing? You know, those things don't get measured.”
The more the Houston coaching staff backs Maldonado, the worse it looks. He cannot be relied upon with runners on base, and is a free agent when the year is up. Something has to give.