Astros' Martin Maldonado: Fully healthy for spring
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Maldonado (hernia) confirmed Thursday that he is fully healthy leading into the spring, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Maldonado required hernia surgery in mid-November, but he's now healthy after having three full months to recover. He used the period of rehab and recovery to drop 17 pounds and is preparing to be something close to an everyday presence at catcher this year for the reigning World Series-champion Astros. The 36-year-old hit a career-high 15 home runs over 113 regular-season games in 2022, though his .600 OPS was still below average.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Undergoes hernia surgery
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Maldonado underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a sports hernia, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Maldonado played through the injury late in the year, though you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell based on his numbers. His 85 wRC+ in the second half wasn't a strong mark, though it was much better than his 61 wRC+ in the first half. The defense-first catcher is expected to be fully recovered from the procedure in time for spring training in 2023.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Resting in Game 4
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Maldonado is out of the lineup Wednesday for Game 4 of the World Series matchup with the Phillies, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Maldonado will take a seat after he was behind the plate for each of the Astros' last four postseason games. Christian Vazquez will catch for starting pitcher Cristian Javier in Game 4.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Goes yard Tuesday
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Maldonado went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 10-0 win over the Phillies.
Maldonado contributed a solo shot in the second inning, accounting for the last of the six runs charged to Phillies starter Ranger Suarez. Over his last seven games, Maldonado has gone just 3-for-19 with nine strikeouts. The catcher has set career highs in homers (15) and RBI (45) in 112 contests this year, but he's slashing only .187/.249/.354 with 40 runs scored and 12 doubles.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Sitting out Friday
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Maldonado isn't in the lineup Friday against Tampa Bay.
After going 0-for-7 in Houston's last series against the Diamondbacks, Maldonado will yield catching duties to Christian Vazquez, who will bat eighth. This is the third time Maldonado has sat after making two consecutive starts, so it seems the Astros have fallen into a pattern behind the plate they like going forward.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: On bench Thursday
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Maldonado isn't starting Thursday against the Orioles.
Maldonado is getting a day off after he went 3-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Rays. Christian Vazquez will take over behind the plate and bat seventh.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Three hits including homer
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Maldonado went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's victory over Tampa Bay.
Maldonado ripped two singles prior to going deep for a solo shot off Dusten Knight in the top of the ninth inning. The homer was his 14th of the year and second in his last three games. Maldonado has gone 9-for-22 with two home runs, six RBI and seven runs over his last six games.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Gets breather Monday
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Maldonado isn't starting Monday against the Rays.
Maldonado was productive Sunday against Oakland, going 4-for-4 with a homer, four runs and four RBI. However, he'll be out of the lineup for the fourth time in the last six games while Christian Vazquez starts behind the dish and bats eighth.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Generates four hits Sunday
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Maldonado went 4-for-4 with a home run, four runs and four RBI during Sunday's 11-2 win over the Athletics.
Maldonado was out of the lineup for three of the four games leading up to Sunday's matchup, but he helped drive the Astros' offense to the blowout win in the series finale against Oakland. In spite of Sunday's encouraging performance, the 36-year-old has been relatively quiet since the start of September, hitting .233 with a home run, six RBI, five runs, a walk and seven strikeouts over 10 games.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Not starting Saturday
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Maldonado isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Athletics.
Maldonado went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a strikeout Friday and will retreat to the bench for the third time in the last four games. Christian Vazquez will start behind the dish and bat eighth.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Remains out of lineup
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Maldonado isn't starting Thursday against Oakland.
Maldonado has hit just .091 with a run, an RBI, a walk and six strikeouts over eight games since the start of September, and he'll take a seat for the third time in the last five matchups. Christian Vazquez is starting behind the dish and batting eighth.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Takes seat Wednesday
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Maldonado isn't starting Wednesday against the Tigers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Maldonado is on the bench for the second time in the last four games after he went 1-for-7 with a run and two strikeouts over the last two matchups. Christian Vazquez is starting behind the plate and batting seventh.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Retreats to bench
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Maldonado isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Rangers.
Maldonado was back in action over the last two games and went 1-for-5 with an RBI, a walk and a strikeout. Christian Vazquez will take over behind the dish and bat eighth Wednesday.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Game-winning hit in return
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Maldonado went 1-for-3 with an RBI on Monday against the Rangers.
Maldonado was back in the lineup after being scratched Sunday due to an illness. He connected for an RBI single in the second inning, the lone run scored by either team in the game. Maldonado has only three hits across his last 10 starts and 26 at-bats and has a .177/.243/.341 line across 325 plate appearances on the campaign.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Good to go Monday
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Maldonado (illness) will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Rangers.
As anticipated, Maldonado is ready to resume catching duties Monday after he was scratched in advance of Sunday's 9-1 win over the Angels due to a minor cold. In his return, Maldonado will form a battery with right-hander Hunter Brown, who is making his MLB debut.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Scratched with illness
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Maldonado was scratched from Sunday's lineup against the Angels with an illness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Maldonado was originally set to work behind the plate, but he'll instead receive a day off since he's under the weather. According to McTaggart, the veteran backstop is expected to rejoin the lineup Monday versus the Rangers. Christian Vazquez will work behind the plate Sunday.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Retreats to bench Saturday
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Maldonado isn't starting Saturday against the Angels, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Maldonado went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Friday but will be out of the lineup for the third time in the last four games. Christian Vazquez is starting behind the plate and batting fifth.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Quiet in return to lineup
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Maldonado (hand) went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Friday's 4-2 win over the Angels.
Maldonado missed two games due to swelling in his right hand after he was hit by a pitch Sunday versus the Orioles. The catcher wasn't able to do much in his return, and he's gone just 5-for-40 (.125) over his last 14 games. Despite the lack of hitting, Maldonado figures to reclaim the No. 1 catcher role over Christian Vazquez as long as the former's hand issue doesn't resurface.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Returns to Astros' lineup
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Maldonado (hand) is starting Friday against the Angels.
Maldonado sat out the last two games due to a swollen right hand but will start behind the dish and bat ninth Friday. He's gone just 1-for-14 with a double, a run, a walk and six strikeouts over his last five games.
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Astros' Martin Maldonado: Idle for another game
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Maldonado (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
He'll take a seat for the second game in a row while he continues to manage a swollen right hand, which stems from being hit by a pitch in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Orioles. Christian Vazquez will get another turn behind the dish while Maldonado is day-to-day with the injury.
