Milwaukee Brewers: Could Martin Maldonado make a return?
The Milwaukee Brewers front office should leave no stone unturned in pursuit of improving the roster during this offseason.
The Milwaukee Brewers don’t need to add a catcher as much as other positions. However, a reunion with free agent Martin Maldonado is worth exploring.
Although Maldonado doesn’t bring much more than Manny Piña with the lumber, he is a former Gold Glove award winner behind the plate and brings superior defense. Nothing against Piña, who himself was a finalist for the Gold Glove this season, but Maldonado is just that much better.
The Milwaukee Brewers traded Maldonado to the Angels in exchange for Jett Bandy prior to the 2017 season. He was relegated to a mostly backup role while with Milwaukee never appearing in more than 79 games for the Crew. However, the defensive standout took home the Gold Glove after getting his first chance at the everyday job in L.A.
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That 2017 season was a breakout year for Maldonado. The 32-year-old hit just .221 while appearing in a career-high 138 games. However, he did manage to hit 14 home runs while displaying his superior brand of defense behind the dish.
Base stealers beware when Maldy is behind the plate. Unless you’re Billy Hamilton or Byron Buxton, chances are you won’t be successful swiping bases on Maldonado.
He sports a career 38% caught stealing rate, including an eye-popping league-best 49% during the 2018 season. He also has a career .992 fielding percentage and is as sure-handed as they come at that position.
About the only thing that plagues Maldonado is his lack of offensive production. If Milwaukee is going to add to their catchers group I would expect them to pursue a more offensive-minded backstop.
Next. Could the Crew land Bryce Harper?. dark
Although it would be fun to see Maldy sporting Brewer blue during the 2019 season, his skill set is just too similar to what they already have in Piña. For that reason, a reunion between Martin Maldonado and the Milwaukee Brewers is unlikely.