On Monday, in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the San Diego Padres sustained a devastating blow to their bullpen depth, with Jason Adam set to miss the rest of the 2025 season after rupturing his quad tendon. This just shows how important depth is, especially for a team with championship aspirations like the Padres have. This explains why they brought back a former World Series champion that they cut earlier in the season — catcher Martin Maldonado.
According to Jeff Sanders of San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have brought back Maldonado, the 2022 World Series champion, into the fray. The catch, however, is that Maldonado only signed a minor-league deal, and he'll only be deployed by the Padres in a big-league capacity in the event of an injury.
Maldonado provides some defensive utility behind the plate, but that's about all he provides at this stage of his career. There was a reason after all that the Padres designated him for assignment in early August. He was underperforming and he got the ax after San Diego bolstered their roster at the trade deadline.
Prior to his release in early August, Maldonado was having an absolute stinker of a season. He had an OPS of .572, and he didn't rate quite well in defensive metrics. But the Padres cannot take a chance, as an injury to the likes of Freddy Fermin or Elias Diaz would put them at such a difficult spot. At the very least, Maldonado is coming in as an insurance policy, a battle-tested veteran who can come in as needed.
At present, Maldonado is “ramping up” at Arizona, the home of the Padres' rookie-level minor-league affiliate. That would have to do for now as Maldonado prepares to vault into action if emergency strikes.
Padres brace for eventual playoff run
The Padres have been going toe to toe with the Los Angeles Dodgers all season long, and they still remain within striking distance of them in the race for the NL West crown. Their loss to the Orioles on Monday, however, put them two games behind the Dodgers, a team that had the day off on Monday.
They have 24 games remaining in the regular season, so they have plenty of time to make up that ground. The injury to Jason Adam won't help matters at all, but the Padres certainly have the depth to hang on to their current playoff position and do damage once they get to the postseason.
