Astros, Maldonado Agree To Contract Extension
Brian Barefield | 4/21/2021, 2:18 p.m.
Photo Credit/Houston Astros
HOUSTON, TX – The Astros and catcher Martin Maldonado have agreed to a one-year contract extension, General Manager James Click announced today.
With the extension, Maldonado is now signed through the 2022 season. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Maldonado, who earned a Gold Glove in 2017, is considered one of the top defensive catchers in the Majors. Since his first season in 2011, Maldonado has thrown out 32.2% of attempted base-stealers, which ranks second only to Yadier Molina (32.7%) in that span among catchers (per STATS, min. 450 games).
Maldonado has emerged as one of the Astros team leaders over the past two seasons, and is credited with playing a significant role in the success of the Astros young pitching staff in 2020. In 2020, the Astros used a club record 15 rookie pitchers, inlcuding 10 that made their Major League debuts. In the postseason, in which the Astros ended with an 8-5 record, seven rookie hurlers combined to post a 3-0 mark with a 3.28 ERA in 35 appearances.
Offensively, Maldonado, who is off to a slow start offensively early this season, was one of the top clutch hitters in the AL last year, hitting a club-best .375 with runners in scoring position, which was tops among all catchers and ranked 7th overall in the AL. His 1.137 OPS with RISP ranked third overall in the AL.
