Maldonado (thumb) said he's hopeful he'll be ready to rejoin Houston's Grapefruit League lineup Friday against the Mets, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Maldonado has been out of action since Sunday, when he took a foul tip off his thumb and then aggravated the injury while catching later in the game. He said he would have been available Tuesday if the Astros were playing a regular-season game, so the club is seemingly just taking a cautious approach with the veteran, who will serve as Houston's top catcher in 2020.