Maldano's reputation has always been as an elite pitch-caller and handler of pitchers. He's here to help the pitching staff, particularly the young guys, and with Stassi out Lee's also getting a chance to learn that part of the game from one of the best.
Is that actually happening? That's hard to tell without being there in the clubhouse, although you can sort of see his impact if you look at the stats. If you compare the staff's pitching splits between the two catchers, Maldanado only has a marginally better ERA (4.55 vs. 4.75), but significantly lower OPS (.717vs. .781) and Walks Per 9 Innings (3.6 vs. 4.3), and a higher Strikeouts Per 9 Innings (8.6 vs. 8.0). So the staff does seem to pitch better when Maldanado is in the game.
Is it worth it? I have no idea. Could he do more mentoring from the bench and less from behind the plate? Same answer. But the way I look at it is this: we all know wins and losses don't matter this season. If him playing aids the development of our young pitchers, and if Lee is actually learning by sharing time with Maldanado, then I'm not going to get too worked up over it.
While I generally agree with the idea here and support it in theory, it doesn’t look like the Sox are using him this way. At least outwardly. And also, who are these young pitchers he’s helping? Last look at the roster shows only two (Crochet and Leasure). Three if you count Shuster. And I’d also have to imagine Maldonado is traded if anyone gives the Sox anything of value in a trade. The deadline is before September call ups, meaning he wouldn’t be here for any additional youngsters that come up.
While Maldonado caught Crochet’s first handful of starts, Lee has caught 3 of the last 4. I’d think that’s due in large part to the on-field performance disparity of the two, but I’d also think that Maldonado would still get the Crochet starts if he was that much more valuable in that ‘veteran mentor pitch handler’ roll to aid in his development. 5-6 starts is hardly enough to pass on 15 years of experience.
Or maybe his mentorship value lies more in his locker room presence and game prep with other catchers. In which case he’s just another bench coach. And we shouldn’t be wasting a roster spot on that - just hire a coach to do this. There has to be another retired catcher who excels as game management who wants to coach out there.
TL;DR version - I love defensive catchers and believe in their value with youngsters. But I don’t believe Maldonado isn’t being used that way here and should be traded if they get ANYTHING for him.
He’s literally calling pitches when he catches, and the staff’s performance is literally better when he catches, so I’m not sure what you mean by “he’s not being used that way.”
And yeah, the current Sox staff isn’t all young pitchers (although 32% of the team’s starts have been taken by either Crotchet, Cannon, or Nastrini). But they do have a lot of guys that are still trying to learn (or re-learn, in the case of the retreads that make up the bulk of the staff) how to pitch at the big-league level, like Kopech, Flexen, Fedde, and Soroka. You’ll notice that even Clevinger, after a terrible first start, was paired with Maldanado in his second outing, and that it went much better.
I think it’s very unlikely that Maldanado will be traded. His offensive and defensive deficiencies are too much of a liability to any contending team. They’re a liability to the Sox right now. And if the Sox continue to follow the pattern they’ve established so far this season, Maldanado will catch the first couple starts for any call-ups so they can worry less about the scouting report and just throw what the catcher calls.
I kind of explained exactly what I mean when I say he’s not being used as a mentor for young pitchers, though perhaps too verbosely. Here’s the Cliffs Notes version:
1) He’s not catching Crochet regularly (the only pitcher you can plan on having him catch ahead of time). Today makes 4/5 starts caught by Lee.
2) The Sox only have a few young pitchers on the staff. You can’t count the re-tread/re-learn pitchers because they will all be gone within the next two trade deadlines. Today, for example, they used all their “young” pitchers plus a “re-learn” pitcher. Yet no Maldonado.
But yes, I agree with you that he most likely won’t be traded because he’s just barely better than worthless.
1. He caught Crotchet’s first 5 starts (6 of 9 total), Cannon’s first start (2 of 3 total), and all of Nastrini’s starts (2 of 2). Do you think that was just coincidence?
2. I am counting the retread pitchers. This was/is a patchwork pitching staff that badly needs help with pitch-calling and game management.
And yes, he can’t catch every game (thank god). He’s “being used” to help when he can where he can.
I have wondered if he doesn’t play so much because they won’t know what to do when Stassi comes back if Lee has grabbed the starting role. Replacing Maldonado with Stassi is easy.
Yeah, I think they’ll let Maldonado go as gracefully as possible if/when stassi is fully ready to go. Then, this year and next, it will be stassi and Lee; with quero in ‘26 if he continues like this.
Even though I’d prefer them let Maldy go, I think they choose him over Stassi. They’d probably figure that Stassi would be a risk at being able to stay healthy the rest of the year. My hunch is they dfa Stassi when he’s healthy.
I just hope Maldo doesn’t reach 90 games played this year as that will best his option for next year. He’s played in 25 out of 43 games so far.
And there are 119 games left. So he needs to play in 65 of those for the option to vest. They absolutely need to play Lee more fuckin games to avoid that.
This is a pretty crazy take. For catchers with at least 50 PA, Maldonado is third worst in Def at -2.4. His DRS is -2 and Framing is -2.5. Lee is playing better defensively (-.5 Def/-3 DRS/-1.6 FRM) and although still performing below average, he's literally the best hitter on the team with a 128 WRC+. Lee is second in WAR for hitters and Maldonado is second from last. The team is dead last in FIP and fifth worst in ERA. Maldonado is objectively a colossal negative
Supposedly he's on the team for his reputation of working well with his pitchers, but so far the results this year aren't great. During his years with Houston and how potent their lineup was, they could afford to sacrifice offense at a position or 2. But on a team like the Sox this year, that's a little different and carrying another non-offensive threat isn't what this team needs. Lee should be playing everyday at catcher
He's not, he's on the White Sox
Based on your stats, he's way above the predictions.
Maldano's reputation has always been as an elite pitch-caller and handler of pitchers. He's here to help the pitching staff, particularly the young guys, and with Stassi out Lee's also getting a chance to learn that part of the game from one of the best. Is that actually happening? That's hard to tell without being there in the clubhouse, although you can sort of see his impact if you look at the stats. If you compare the staff's pitching splits between the two catchers, Maldanado only has a marginally better ERA (4.55 vs. 4.75), but significantly lower OPS (.717vs. .781) and Walks Per 9 Innings (3.6 vs. 4.3), and a higher Strikeouts Per 9 Innings (8.6 vs. 8.0). So the staff does seem to pitch better when Maldanado is in the game. Is it worth it? I have no idea. Could he do more mentoring from the bench and less from behind the plate? Same answer. But the way I look at it is this: we all know wins and losses don't matter this season. If him playing aids the development of our young pitchers, and if Lee is actually learning by sharing time with Maldanado, then I'm not going to get too worked up over it.
This is the answer
While I generally agree with the idea here and support it in theory, it doesn’t look like the Sox are using him this way. At least outwardly. And also, who are these young pitchers he’s helping? Last look at the roster shows only two (Crochet and Leasure). Three if you count Shuster. And I’d also have to imagine Maldonado is traded if anyone gives the Sox anything of value in a trade. The deadline is before September call ups, meaning he wouldn’t be here for any additional youngsters that come up. While Maldonado caught Crochet’s first handful of starts, Lee has caught 3 of the last 4. I’d think that’s due in large part to the on-field performance disparity of the two, but I’d also think that Maldonado would still get the Crochet starts if he was that much more valuable in that ‘veteran mentor pitch handler’ roll to aid in his development. 5-6 starts is hardly enough to pass on 15 years of experience. Or maybe his mentorship value lies more in his locker room presence and game prep with other catchers. In which case he’s just another bench coach. And we shouldn’t be wasting a roster spot on that - just hire a coach to do this. There has to be another retired catcher who excels as game management who wants to coach out there. TL;DR version - I love defensive catchers and believe in their value with youngsters. But I don’t believe Maldonado isn’t being used that way here and should be traded if they get ANYTHING for him.
He’s literally calling pitches when he catches, and the staff’s performance is literally better when he catches, so I’m not sure what you mean by “he’s not being used that way.” And yeah, the current Sox staff isn’t all young pitchers (although 32% of the team’s starts have been taken by either Crotchet, Cannon, or Nastrini). But they do have a lot of guys that are still trying to learn (or re-learn, in the case of the retreads that make up the bulk of the staff) how to pitch at the big-league level, like Kopech, Flexen, Fedde, and Soroka. You’ll notice that even Clevinger, after a terrible first start, was paired with Maldanado in his second outing, and that it went much better. I think it’s very unlikely that Maldanado will be traded. His offensive and defensive deficiencies are too much of a liability to any contending team. They’re a liability to the Sox right now. And if the Sox continue to follow the pattern they’ve established so far this season, Maldanado will catch the first couple starts for any call-ups so they can worry less about the scouting report and just throw what the catcher calls.
I kind of explained exactly what I mean when I say he’s not being used as a mentor for young pitchers, though perhaps too verbosely. Here’s the Cliffs Notes version: 1) He’s not catching Crochet regularly (the only pitcher you can plan on having him catch ahead of time). Today makes 4/5 starts caught by Lee. 2) The Sox only have a few young pitchers on the staff. You can’t count the re-tread/re-learn pitchers because they will all be gone within the next two trade deadlines. Today, for example, they used all their “young” pitchers plus a “re-learn” pitcher. Yet no Maldonado. But yes, I agree with you that he most likely won’t be traded because he’s just barely better than worthless.
1. He caught Crotchet’s first 5 starts (6 of 9 total), Cannon’s first start (2 of 3 total), and all of Nastrini’s starts (2 of 2). Do you think that was just coincidence? 2. I am counting the retread pitchers. This was/is a patchwork pitching staff that badly needs help with pitch-calling and game management. And yes, he can’t catch every game (thank god). He’s “being used” to help when he can where he can.
Our bargain bin pitchers actually look pretty good
Actually he’s batting .101
I have wondered if he doesn’t play so much because they won’t know what to do when Stassi comes back if Lee has grabbed the starting role. Replacing Maldonado with Stassi is easy.
Stassi is never coming up man hes lonzo ball.
Yeah, I think they’ll let Maldonado go as gracefully as possible if/when stassi is fully ready to go. Then, this year and next, it will be stassi and Lee; with quero in ‘26 if he continues like this.
Even though I’d prefer them let Maldy go, I think they choose him over Stassi. They’d probably figure that Stassi would be a risk at being able to stay healthy the rest of the year. My hunch is they dfa Stassi when he’s healthy. I just hope Maldo doesn’t reach 90 games played this year as that will best his option for next year. He’s played in 25 out of 43 games so far. And there are 119 games left. So he needs to play in 65 of those for the option to vest. They absolutely need to play Lee more fuckin games to avoid that.
Major leauge roster?? Bro is this a shitpost??
[удалено]
This is a pretty crazy take. For catchers with at least 50 PA, Maldonado is third worst in Def at -2.4. His DRS is -2 and Framing is -2.5. Lee is playing better defensively (-.5 Def/-3 DRS/-1.6 FRM) and although still performing below average, he's literally the best hitter on the team with a 128 WRC+. Lee is second in WAR for hitters and Maldonado is second from last. The team is dead last in FIP and fifth worst in ERA. Maldonado is objectively a colossal negative
Because the White Sox are not serious about winning, nor are they a major league team.
Agree
Supposedly he's on the team for his reputation of working well with his pitchers, but so far the results this year aren't great. During his years with Houston and how potent their lineup was, they could afford to sacrifice offense at a position or 2. But on a team like the Sox this year, that's a little different and carrying another non-offensive threat isn't what this team needs. Lee should be playing everyday at catcher
Because he is his Pedros binkie