LA Angels Need a Martin Maldonado Reunion ASAP

News broke last week that the LA Angels have a meeting scheduled with free agent catcher Martin Maldonado. Needless to say, they need a reunion with their former catcher.

Last season, the LA Angels didn’t have a single catcher who was a positive player on the field. Free agent signing Jonathan Lucroy was cut in July. Max Stassi went down with a hip injury that could have him miss the beginning of next season. Kevan Smith’s play was enough to be non-tendered, even if that was a mistake by the Angels.

Basically, the Angels need serious help. This is the state their catching position has been in since they dealt Martin Maldonado away to the Houston Astros in 2018, and they can finally correct that mistake this winter. And there is no better time than the present.

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When Maldonado was with the Angels in 2018, he was Shohei Ohtani‘s personal catcher. As we all know, Ohtani was a phenomenal pitcher when he was healthy enough to do so. Whether you believe in catcher ERA or not, there’s no doubting that Maldonado and Ohtani had great chemistry together.

Furthermore, Gerrit Cole‘s personal catcher in Houston was….you guessed it. Martin Maldonado caught 18 starts from Cole during their time together in Houston. He posted a higher strikeout-to-walk ratio with Maldonado than he has with any other catcher throughout his career. Opponent’s batting average and on-base percentage have never been lower for Cole than when he’s caught by Maldonado as well.

On top of his elite chemistry with the Angels’ current ace and their #1 free agent target, he isn’t an absolute zero on offense either. While it’s not the strong suit of his game, Maldonado is light years ahead of current Angels’ catcher Max Stassi. He isn’t an automatic out, which the Angels don’t have on their roster at the moment.

Maldonado’s price tag will be interesting to see. He is arguably the best overall catcher left on the market, but that doesn’t make him a high-quality free agent. A one-year deal – possibly with a team option for a second year – is what the Angels are probably looking at in terms of length. The salary will sit somewhere between $2-5 million, which is something the Angels can, and most definitely should, sign Maldonado to.