Martín Maldonado is on his way to Chicago’s South Side.
Maldonado and the Chicago White Sox had agreed on a one-year contract, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
This is in response to FanSided’s Robert Murray reporting that the two parties were nearing a settlement. There is apparently a two-season option in the contract.
The 37-year-old, who will begin his 13th MLB season this year, has played for the Houston Astros for the previous five seasons. Notably, he also played four games in 2019 with the Chicago Cubs, who play in the opposite city.
With a career batting average of.207 and three straight seasons with an average below.200, Maldonado does not provide much in the hitting department.
Maldonado is most useful when he is defending the ball. In addition to winning a gold glove in 2017, he played a crucial role in the Astros’ 2022 World Series success. He can provide the pitching staff some continuity and consistently start more than 100 games a season at third base.
Given that Yasmani Grandal is still a free agent, this could mean that his time in Chicago is coming to an end. Grandal’s affiliation with a winning Astros club may also be an attempt to change the losing mentality within the White Sox, as a team striving to compete at that level may benefit from his expertise.
Chicago had a terrible season in 2023, going 61-101 and placing fourth.