Martín Maldonado hitting woes thrown into spotlight, but White Sox like him behind the plate

Martín Maldonado just isn’t hitting.

Like at all.

The Chicago White Sox catcher is 0-for-his-last-35 and 1-for-his-last-46. He hasn’t had a hit in nearly a month.

Of course, Chris Getz’s front office didn’t bring Maldonado aboard this past offseason because they expected a consistent offensive producer. In his three previous seasons, all with the perennial-contending Astros, he failed to surpass the Mendoza Line, batting .172 in 2021, .186 in 2022 and .191 in 2023. Maldonado was signed as a free agent because of his veteran know how and famous-within-the-game ability to work with pitching staffs.

But an .071 batting average, even for a rebuilding team in a rebuilding year, is bound to drive fans batty.

“I’ve been in this game long enough to understand that’s the nature of the game,” Maldonado said Sunday. “The only thing you can control is to keep working, put in my work on a daily basis. I’m doing that. The outcome at the end of the year is going to show up.

“I couldn’t be this bad for the whole season.”

Even if Maldonado is doing what the White Sox brought him here to do outside the batter’s box — though his defensive numbers haven’t been great, either, and he’s only thrown out one would-be base-stealer all year — that lack of offensive ability is going to bite the team in some big moments.

Like it did Sunday.

Maldonado came up with the bases loaded in the sixth inning of a tie game and flew out to center field. He came up again in the eighth inning, with a runner on third base and the White Sox owning a one-run lead, and struck out.

White Sox relievers ended up coughing up that one-run lead in the ninth inning and giving up two more in the 10th, sending the team back to the losing side of the ledger after it snapped its 14-game losing streak with back-to-back wins Friday and Saturday.

Pedro Grifol, who a frustrated fan base has focused their rage on this season, didn’t pinch-hit for Maldonado either time the maligned catcher strode to the plate, giving those same fans more complaints about the South Side skipper — and more reason to be upset that Maldonado is taking at-bats at all.

“That comes up every time Maldonado plays, and I understand it 100 percent,” Grifol said after the game. “There’s a reason why Maldonado catches. And there’s a reason I give Korey (Lee) days off, too. Korey had run a stretch of 10 or 11 games in a row, and Maldonado does a really good job behind the plate. … I think he’s really valuable behind the plate, but I understand. I get it.

“He’s not swinging it. It’s a hot topic every time he catches. It’s going to continue to be a hot topic. And I’m going to continue to make decisions that I feel is best for the team, not just offensively. Defensively, as well. … I like what he does behind the plate, and I like him in these types of games in these types of situations.”

Grifol expressed some frustration of his own upon further Maldonado-related questioning, acutely aware of how much of a talking point Maldonado’s failures at the plate this season have been. He’s repeatedly voiced his appreciation for what Maldonado brings, and he did it again Sunday.

“It comes up every single day (he plays), and I like what he does behind the plate and I value that tremendously. Some people don’t. I do.

“I’m not going to sit here and harp on, every time Maldonado (catches), why I don’t pinch-hit for him in the first inning. … I’m not just going to go through this every single day, whatever the at-bat is, whether it be second inning, fourth inning. I believe in what he does defensively.”

Irritated fans want to know when Maldonado will be gone, but it doesn’t seem like that day is coming anytime soon. As mad as they get about his lack of offensive punch, Maldonado’s teammates are very pleased with what he does working with them, and they see how positive of an influence he is on Lee, who with a strong showing early on this year earned a lot more playing time than was expected.

“He takes a lot of pride in his catching,” Chris Flexen said of Maldonado while talking with CHGO on Sunday. “Obviously, that’s his biggest strength. And he understands the game really well and continues to teach that, as well. You see Korey continuing to strive to get better, as well. It’s a guy who’s been around, has caught so many games in his career, does a really good job of understanding the game situations, as well as your strengths, and trying to allow you to be the best you can be.

“A guy who takes pride into (working with) the individual is always very beneficial and helpful. Definitely (knows when is) a good time to get on somebody, when to comfort somebody, when to say, ‘Hey, we’re all right, stay in it.’ I think he does a really good job of that, and I think he passes that down to Korey, as well.”

If Maldonado can help this pitching staff and Lee grow as players and become brighter parts of the rebuilding White Sox’ future, then the lack of offense will be worth it, even if there will be days like Sunday.

“That’s always been my strength,” Maldonado said of his work with the pitchers. “I prepare to do my best communicating with the pitchers, understanding also what they can do. That’s the reason I’ve played the game this long. It wasn’t because of my bat. I’ve never been a .300 hitter. I’ve never hit third in a lineup.

“I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job. I think the guys are happy.”

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