The Chicago White Sox are designating Martin Maldonado for assignment, according to Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The veteran catcher has not had a productive season for the White Sox and is now on his way out, possibly with his MLB days done for good.

Maldonado was one of the many veterans the White Sox brought in as a stopgap for this season. The 37-year-old has been one of the best defensive catchers in baseball for quite some time now, allowing him to keep his career going through such an old age. But that age has finally caught up to him, as his defense is no longer good enough to make up for his below-average bat, which has become truly horrible at this stage in his career.

In 48 games/147 plate appearances this season, Maldonado posted a paltry .403 OPS with 51 strikeouts, which exceeds the combined total of his hits (16), walks (eight) and RBI (11). Ironically, the White Sox are letting him go during his best stretch of the season. His last five games have featured a staggering 1.537 OPS with six hits, three home runs and six RBI. His hot streak pushed his OPS above four for the first time all season.

If this is it for Martin Maldonado, he can take solace in his very long MLB career that features a Gold Glove award in 2017 and a World Series in 2022 with the Houston Astros, where he played through a broken hand and started every game of the postseason. His 58 defensive runs saved on FanGraphs are the 10th-most since his first big-league season in 2012. Plus, he no longer has to play for the 2024 White Sox.

White Sox' catching options after DFAing Martin Maldonado

According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, the White Sox are calling up a veteran catcher, Chuckie Robinson, ahead of their weekend series against the Kansas City Royals. The 29-year-old hasn’t played much at the MLB level, appearing in just 25 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, but has been a mainstay in the upper levels of the minor leagues for the past few seasons now.

In 55 games/216 plate appearances this season with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, Robinson has recorded a slash line of .246/.292/.382, 49 hits (seven doubles, one triple, four home runs), 32 RBI and 22 runs. He has allowed 43 stolen bases and caught 14 bass runners red-handed, giving him an above-average caught-stealing percentage of 24.6 percent.

Robinson is going to serve as the backup for Korey Lee, a 25-year-old who has started the most games for the White Sox at catcher this season. He has posted a .218/.254/.358 slash line, 50 hits and 24 RBI in 240 plate appearances so far this season. Any strides he makes down the home stretch of the season will be great for Chicago.

With an MLB-worst record of 27-71, the White Sox are bound to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline. They’ll field offers for guys like Garrett Crochet, Luis Robert Jr. and Tommy Pham, trade them if the right deal comes up and then just try to get this season over with.