The Chicago White Sox made a flurry of roster moves on Wednesday. First, the team officially announced the signing of infielder Nick Senzel to a major league deal. To make room on the 40-man and active rosters, Chicago designated infielder Danny Mendick for assignment and optioned infielder Lenyn Sosa to Triple-A.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 17, 2024
A couple of hours later, Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported that the White Sox would designate veteran catcher Martín Maldonado for assignment. A corresponding move is expected before the team resumes play on Friday.
The White Sox have designated Martín Maldonado for assignment, sources tell me and @Chandler_Rome.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 17, 2024
White Sox Designate Martín Maldonado for Assignment in Roster Shakeup
Chicago signed Maldonado to a one-year deal this offseason hoping the veteran could guide a young pitching staff on a rebuilding team. While the South Siders have seen some breakout pitching performances this year, Maldonado has not been effective enough with the bat.
In 147 plate appearances across 48 games, Maldonado has hit .119/.174/.230 (14 OPS+) with an awful strikeout rate of 34.7 percent. While he notoriously has not been a good hitter throughout his career (72 OPS+ in 3,720 plate appearances entering 2024), this season’s production has been outlandishly putrid.
His numbers would look much worse if not for a mini-hot streak in July.
Martin Maldonado is hitting above .100 for the 1st time since May 14th! pic.twitter.com/sVOKJhAUS4
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) July 6, 2024
Perhaps even more troublesome, defensive metrics do not like his work behind the dish this year. He has already tallied -8 Defensive Runs Saved in 2024 after recording -10 last year.
To be fair, defensive metrics are not perfect and are considered to be especially faulty when grading catchers. Plus, Maldonado has a great reputation for his game-calling skills and knack for working with pitchers. These are two factors not calculated in defensive metrics.
However, he turns 38 in August and could very well just be past his prime. If Maldonado didn’t hold such a great defensive reputation, he would have been out of the game a long time ago. It’s possible that the decline in his defensive metrics signals that his age is catching up to him.
An Imminent Youth Movement on the South Side of Chicago
After designating Maldonado for assignment, the White Sox have only rookie Korey Lee on the active roster. However, the former top Astros prospect has also struggled offensively (72 OPS+) this season in the starting role.
With the White Sox roster shakeup on Wednesday, the team has open spots on both the active and 40-man roster. This could forecast the promotion of top-prospect Edgar Quero from Triple-A.
Edgar Quero connects for his first Triple-A homer in his first game with @KnightsBaseball
— Pipeline to 35th (@PipelineTo35th) July 5, 2024
Chicago acquired Quero from the Los Angeles Angels at last summer’s deadline and the prospect has hit at every level in the system. This includes a 142 wRC+ and a .275/.360/.463 slash line in 72 Double-A games this year. He has also hit well in just six Triple-A games.
Though it’s just speculation at the moment, this is a potential move worth watching in the coming days.
Photo Credit: © Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
