Martín Maldonado’s next stop in baseball is Detroit.
The former major league catcher is set to join the Tigers as their quality control coach, according to Chandler Rome and Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. It’s a move that puts Maldonado back alongside A.J. Hinch, the manager he played for during parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons with Houston.
There’s another familiar face waiting in the Tigers’ clubhouse setup, too. Maldonado and Framber Valdez spent years together in Houston, and Rome and Stavenhagen note that Valdez has thrown more innings to Maldonado than any other catcher. Their history includes some of the biggest moments of Valdez’s career: Maldonado was behind the plate when the Astros clinched the World Series against the Phillies in 2022, and he also caught Valdez’s no-hitter in 2023.
Detroit signed Valdez to a three-year, $115MM deal in free agency last winter, but his first season with the Tigers didn’t match the expectation that came with the contract. He finished with a 4.03 ERA and similar underlying numbers over 174 innings.
Maldonado, who built a 15-year career as a defense-first catcher and won a Gold Glove while playing for seven MLB teams, announced his retirement last October. He hasn’t been away from the sport for long, though. This season, he worked as a special assistant with the Braves.
The Tigers are filling a position that was opened last July, when Billy Boyer moved from quality control coach to third base coach after Joey Cora was replaced. Maldonado now takes over that role in Detroit.
Even after his playing days ended, Maldonado stayed on the radar of teams looking for coaching help. Rome and Stavenhagen report that clubs have “coveted” him, and they add that Astros senior adviser Jeff Bagwell made an unsuccessful run at bringing him onto Houston’s coaching staff last season.
Maldonado will also manage Indios de Mayaguez of the Puerto Rican Winter League this year, adding another layer to a post-playing career that appears to be moving quickly.
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