MLB Rumors: Ronald Acuña MVP doubters, Astros future at catcher, Trey Mancini switches sides
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Will the Houston Astros stick with Martín Maldonado?
Martín Maldonado is batting .180 and strikes out nearly a third of the time he hits, which isn't great for optics. Maldonado is as close as there is to a sure out in the Houston Astros lineup. However, Houston has done little to replace him. Dusty Baker trusts him, and most importantly, the Houston pitching staff has a solid rapport with the Astros catcher since 2019.
Yahoo's Hannah Keyser wrote an excellent piece examining why Houston is so reliant in Maldonado, and unwilling to give Yainer Diaz, who is slashing .281/.297/.540, more games behind home plate.
“He’s my field general,” manager Dusty Baker told Yahoo Sports. “Yainer right now is at West Point learning war strategy, whereas Maldy’s already been at war.”
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Eventually, playing Maldonado every day will be untenable for the Astros, but that time is not now. If Diaz can gain some experience behind home plate and learn to interact with the pitching staff as well as 'Maldy', then he will surpass the veteran on the depth chart. That time is not now, though, and it's unclear if it's anytime soon.
“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 Astros call Maldonado the most prepared catcher in all of baseball. He scours over scouting reports for opposing hitters, knowing that is why he's in the everyday lineup, rather than his bat. Astros fans may be frustrated by his actual plate appearance, but it appears keeping Maldonado as the frontline starting catcher is well worth it for Baker and Co.