Houston Astros Season in Review: Martín Maldonado

Such is Martín Maldonado's pedigree that he was included among six American League finalists for the Silver Slugger award.

No one could have possibly argued that he deserved to win, nor could anyone have argued that he was worthy of making the shortlist, yet all the same, Maldonado's sub-Mendoza Line batting average was among the finalists.

He slashed .186/.248/.352 for a 69 OPS+ in 2022. Nowhere will those stats earn anyone offensive praise, but Maldonado knows the Houston Astros pitching staff better than anyone else, and he handled them like the seasoned pro he is.

Though both the Astros rotation and bullpen are loaded with talent, some of the credit for the myriad of career seasons experienced at Minute Maid Park in 2022 has to go to Maldonado.

Not only did he induce great performances out of his pitchers on the biggest stage, but he made those outings look even better than they were.

Maldonado was worth 6.6 framing runs according to Baseball Prospectus, his highest single-season total since 2017.

Through June, however, even his defense wasn't enough to prevent his measly offense from dragging his value down entirely. On the morning of July 1, Maldonado was slashing .141/.210/.265.

Given more dire circumstances, the Astros would have been well within their rights to bench him entirely, or perhaps even more drastically, cut him. 

For both player and club, it's a good thing that didn't happen. Over his next 97 plate appearances, Maldonado had an OPS of .908 with seven home runs.

Oddly enough, during that span, Aledmys Díaz and Maldonado led the team in OPS alongside Yordan Álvarez.

Over the next month and a half, Maldonado suffered a drastic return to earth that continued through the postseason, but he had contributed with his bat when it was necessary to keep the team afloat.

When Maldonado re-signed with the Astros in 2021, he did so not as an offensive sparkplug, but because the Astros knew he was comfortable handling their pitching staff.

Would they have liked more offensive output from their starting catcher?

Definitely.

That is evidenced by their mid-season trade for Christian Vázquez. But there's also a reason why they didn't trade for Willson Contreras at the deadline. The defensive aspect of Maldonado's game far outweighs his lack of offensive contributions.

Final Grade: B-

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