Do Astros Have Dusty Baker's Replacement Behind Plate?
The Houston Astros are preparing for a managerial search to replace Dusty Baker, who stepped aside on Thursday.
The Astros expect to conduct a thorough search to find their new manager, but it’s possible that they have the perfect candidate already on their team.
And, no, we’re not talking about bench coach Joe Espada, who absolutely should be a prime candidate for the position.
We’re talking about catcher Martín Maldonado.
Out of the box? Absolutely.
It’s not entirely clear his playing career is over. Maldonado is a free agent, and the 37-year-old could re-sign with the Astros. But it might be as Yainer Diaz’s backup rather than as a starter. The young catcher proved to be big-league ready this season.
He might also seek to hook up with another team if he wants to remain a starter.
But, if Maldonado is ready to transition into something else, he might be one of those few players that is ready to step into a managerial job right away.
So why Maldonado and why this job?
Well, the transition would be seamless. He’s been with Houston since 2019. He knows the organization and he knows the roster. He’s built trust from the level of Baker all the way down to the younger players.
Maldonado’s batting average was the source of much consternation during the season. But a former Astros player, Carlos Correa, talked about Maldonado’s importance to Houston during the AL Division Series.
Being a former player with the organization, he would know.
His preparation has become legendary inside the organization. Before a series the catcher would examine scouting reports for up to five hours. Before each game he would spend one or two hours studying.
“He would know the report as well as I did,” Tommy Kawamura, the Astros’ game-planning coach said recently. “Which, it was my sole job to do that, and that's one of his many sorts of things. And he knew it. He knew all the stats. ‘This guy, he hit a fastball one time. It was off this pitcher, up away in a 1-2 count.’”
He knows how to handle a pitching staff on game night, but would that translate how to handle a pitching staff over a 162-game season?
There’s potential.
And he would have help from a coaching staff and an analytics department designed to maximize what he could get out of the team.
Second, he strikes one as a potential player’s manager.
Being new to a job, its takes time to build trust and credibility.
Maldonado knows the players coming back and they know him. He knows how they think and what motivates them. He also knows their strengths and weaknesses, having been their teammate for the past five years. In some ways, his time behind the plate has helped minimize those weakness. Plus the players respect him and he can connect with Latin and non-Latin players alike.
When the Astros traded to get Justin Verlander back, the ace texted “Let’s F***ing Go!” to Maldonado, only for Maldonado to send him a GIF of Verlander comically trying to field a ground ball.
“Which means he loves me,” the star pitcher said.
After his no-hitter, Houston pitcher Framber Valdez told Yahoo! Sports that “For me, it’s almost like God put him here for us, to be able to guide us through these games.”
Third, catcher is one of those positions that seems to lend itself to being a good manager.
They have to see the entire field.
More than anyone, the catcher has to know what’s going on everywhere to call a good game and communicate that to the rest of the team. One of the game’s best managers right now, Texas Rangers’ Bruce Bochy, is a former catcher. He’s taken that ability and translated it into one of the best managerial minds in the game.
Maldonado may have that same potential.
Verlander said in the same Yahoo article that he was happy to have Maldonado’s feedback once again this season after his trade back to the Astros.
Another former Houston pitcher, Gerrit Cole, who's now with the Yankees, provided an assessment of Maldonado that fits perfectly with the type of manager for this analytical era.
“He’s really great at reading swings, and he’s really great on the computer,” Cole said.
Does that mean Maldonado is the right player to make the immediate transition to the manager’s chair?
Maybe.
The Astros will have to figure that out.
But, combining his knowledge of this roster with his preternatural ability behind the plate and they could have a prospective manager that could make good use of what Houston has now and what’s coming in the future.
