The San Diego Padres have a few veterans on their roster who are making contributions in 2025. Players like Manny Machado, Luis Arraez, and Xander Bogaerts are the obvious veterans making a difference. There’s another player who’s been in the league for 15 seasons and is expected to retire at the end of the year.
Journeyman catcher and 15-year MLB veteran Martin Maldonado is expected to retire after the 2025 season, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Maldanado, after 15 seasons on seven different teams, is expected to retire after 2025.
“He says he wants to take a year off after retirement,” Nightengale writes. “And then is interesting in getting back in the game on a coaching staff.”
In his 15-year career, Maldonado has accumulated 6.4 WAR. He has 3,550 at-bats and has a .203 batting average. His .277 career on-base percentage is also fairly low, while his .343 slugging percentage isn’t much better. In the Major Leagues, Maldanado is a .620 OPS hitter and has a 69 OPS+.
He’s played 1,209 games in his career and will likely finish around 1,250 at the end of the 2025 season with the Padres. While he wasn’t the best hitter, he was a good fielder. In 2017 with the Los Angeles Angels, he won the Gold Glove award, his first and only accolade during his 15-year career.
He also won the 2022 World Series with the Houston Astros and had three career postseason home runs with Houston during his six years in the postseason with the club. But, before he retires, he’s continuing to be a focal point on the Padres roster.
In 2025 with the Padres, he’s played in 43 games and has had 101 at-bats. He has 19 hits, seven runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, seven RBIs, six walks, and 39 strikeouts. While he’s struggled at the plate, behind it as a catcher, he’s still been a positive.
After 15 years in the big leagues, split between seven teams, the Padres’ veteran catcher is expected to retire following the 2025 season. He’ll turn 29 on August 16th and retire around two months later. His incredible MLB career began in 2011, but before then, he was drafted in 2004 by the Angels.Â
