The San Diego Padres are 41-35 and looking to make a deep postseason run. This will be the final chance for one of their veterans to add another World Series title to his resume.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, veteran catcher Martín Maldonado will retire after this season. Maldonado is in his 15th season as a big leaguer.
“San Diego Padres veteran Gold Glove catcher Martin Maldonado plans to retire after this season, giving him 15 years in the major leagues,” wrote Nightengale. “He says he wants to take a year off after retirement, and then is interested in getting back in the game on a coaching staff.”
15 years as a big leaguer is no easy feat. Maldonado has 12 years of service time, with most of his career coming with the Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros. His MLB debut came with the Brewers in 2011. He played for the Brewers until 2016 before he landed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.
For the Angels in 2017, he won a Gold Glove. He bounced around the league until 2019 when he wound up with the Astros. It was his second stint in Houston, and he played there until 2023, winning a World Series in 2022. He played for the Chicago White Sox last season before signing a one-year deal with the Padres this season.
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He has played in 43 games this season and has a .188/.234/.307 slash line with three home runs. He has never been an elite hitter in his career, but his play behind the plate has kept him in the big leagues for a long time. It is understandable that he will try to get into coaching with so much time in the big leagues. However, this season will be a chance for him to finish his career off with another World Series victory.
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