The Padres released Maldonado on Wednesday.
Maldonado still leads the Padres in starts at catcher this season with 56, but the club acquired Freddy Fermin at the trade deadline and elected to keep Elias Diaz around over Maldonado as the backup. The soon-to-be 39-year-old has slashed only .163/.211/.280 since the start of last season and might have trouble finding work in a new organization.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: DFA'd by Padres
Rotowire
Maldonado was designated for assignment by the Padres on Thursday.
Maldonado has served as San Diego's primary catcher for extended stretches in 2025, though he had begun to lose significant playing time to Elias Diaz since mid-July. The Padres acquired Freddy Fermin on Thursday to take the place of Maldonado and his .572 OPS.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Sitting third straight
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Maldonado isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.
Maldonado will retreat to the bench for the third straight game Tuesday while Elias Diaz starts behind the dish. Neither backstop has been particularly productive at the plate this season, though the Padres may be starting to favor using Diaz as their primary catcher.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Sitting again Monday
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Maldonado is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Mets on Monday.
Maldonado will be on the bench for a second straight game while Elias Diaz serves behind home plate and bats ninth. Maldonado hasn't been that productive at the plate this season, though he has gone 5-for-14 (.357) with three doubles and two RBI since the All-Star break.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Hitting bench Sunday
Rotowire
Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Maldonado and Elias Diaz have alternated starts behind the plate over the last six games. Neither backstop has been able to get much going offensively this season, with Maldonado producing a .560 OPS in 157 plate appearances and Diaz generating a .576 OPS over 218 plate appearances.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Getting breather Wednesday
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Maldonado will get some rest for Wednesday's day game after he started behind the plate in the first two games of the series while going 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run. Elias Diaz will handle catching duties in the series finale.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Resting Sunday
Rotowire
Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.
After starting behind the plate in three of the Friars' previous four contests, Maldonado will get a breather for the final game before the All-Star break. Elias Diaz will step in at catcher for the Padres on Sunday.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Resting Friday
Rotowire
Maldonado is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Phillies.
Maldonado has not caught more than two games in a row this season, and after catching back-to-back games, Maldonado will yield to Elias Diaz behind the plate Friday. Maldonado has four home runs and a .512 OPS in 138 plate appearances during 2025.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Idle Tuesday
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Maldonado is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Maldonado will get some rest after appearing in the last five games since the second game of a doubleheader July 2. In that five-game stretch, he went 2-for-11 with a walk. For Tuesday's game, Elias Diaz has the start behind the dish and is batting ninth.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Resting for early game
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Phillies.
Elias Diaz will draw the start behind the dish for the first game of the day, but expect Maldonado to handle catching duties for the nightcap. Maldonado batted just .179 with two home runs, five runs and three RBI over 20 games in June, but despite his lackluster production, he still appears to be the Padres' preferred catcher.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Getting breather Sunday
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
He'll hit the bench for the series finale after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts while starting behind the plate in the first two contests in Cincinnati. Elias Diaz will handle catching duties for San Diego on Sunday.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Not in lineup Wednesday
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Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.
Maldonado clubbed his fourth home run of the season in Tuesday's win over the Nationals, but he'll grab a seat in Wednesday's afternoon contest. Elias Diaz will start at catcher and bat ninth for the Padres.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Clubs game-tying homer
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Maldonado went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Nationals.
Maldonado is just 3-for-16 over his last nine games, though two of those hits have gone for extra bases. The catcher helped the Padres' comeback effort with a game-tying blast in the fifth inning to finish erasing a three-run deficit. Maldonado is up to four homers, eight RBI, eight runs scored and a .189/.232/.330 slash line over 116 plate appearances in a part-time role behind the plate. He continues to see a slight edge over Elias Diaz for playing time, which has been the case for much of June.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Resting Monday
Rotowire
Maldonado is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Nationals on Monday.
Maldonado will take a seat while Elias Diaz serves behind home plate and bats ninth. Maldonado has gone 6-for-31 (.194) with one home run, two RBI and 17 strikeouts since the beginning of June.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Sitting Wednesday
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Maldonado is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Dodgers on Wednesday.
Maldonado will sit after going 1-for-4 with a double across the first two games of the series. Elias Diaz will serve behind home plate and bat eighth while catching pitches from Stephen Kolek.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Idle Sunday
Rotowire
Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Maldonado will take a seat for the series finale after he had started behind the plate in three of the Friars' previous four games, including Saturday's 8-7 loss. Elias Diaz will form a battery with starting pitcher Nick Pivetta on Sunday.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Goes yard in blowout win
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Maldonado went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and a second run scored in Tuesday's 11-1 win over the Dodgers.
Maldonado has two multi-hit efforts over his last three games, but he's gone just 5-for-32 (.156) in 15 contests dating back to May 13. The catcher continues to alternate starts with Elias Diaz this month. Maldonado has never been particularly gifted as a hitter, and he's at a .189/.223/.311 slash line with three homers, six RBI and five runs scored over 97 plate appearances this season.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Sitting Monday
Rotowire
Maldonado is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Dodgers on Monday.
Maldonado and Elias Diaz have been splitting backstop duties this season, but the former appears to be the de facto No. 1 option at the moment. Maldonado will be on the bench for Monday's series opener, however, while Diaz serves behind home plate and bats ninth.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Swats homer Friday
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Maldonado went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in a 13-9 win against Colorado on Friday.
Maldonado's long ball was a fifth-inning two-run shot to left field that gave the Padres a 10-1 lead. It was his first homer since April 6 -- a span of 16 games. Maldonado's .207/.233/.328 slash line is far from impressive, but if he keeps up this pace he'll finish with a batting average above the Mendoza Line for the first time since 2020. The veteran backstop has started four of San Diego's past seven games behind the plate, with Elias Diaz starting the other three.
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Padres' Martin Maldonado: Sitting in second straight
Rotowire
Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.
Maldonado will hit the bench for the second day in a row while Elias Diaz picks up another start behind the dish. The playing time at catcher had been tilting in Maldonado's favor in recent weeks, but Diaz brings more offensive upside to the table and showed signs of breaking out of his season-long funk at the plate Tuesday, when he went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the Padres' 7-4 win. Maldonado could see his opportunities take a hit if Diaz is able to build on Tuesday's performance.
