The Detroit Tigers finished the season with a 76-86 record, missing the postseason after making consecutive playoff appearances in 2024 and 2025. Following this disappointing campaign, manager A.J. Hinch is adding former World Series champion catcher Martín Maldonado to his staff.
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Martín Maldonado, a 40-year-old Gold Glove catcher, is the man Detroit expects to bring some calm. According to The Athletic, he’ll be signing on as a quality-control coach, having played alongside Hinch on the Houston Astros in 2018 and 2019. Billy Boyer left the position in July after being promoted to third base.
“My goal is to manage in the future,” Maldonado told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart in an interview after retiring in October 2025. “You’ve got to take it step by step.”
Some teams wanted the catcher when he retired after playing 1,230 games for seven teams, according to The Athletic, and Houston Astros’ senior adviser Jeff Bagwell tried to get him hired, but was unsuccessful.
Maldonado was the Atlanta Braves’ special assistant in 2026 and will manage Indios de Mayagüez in the winter league in 2026. The reunion of Maldonado in the dugout with the Detroit Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch means he will go back to Detroit, but not as a player, as a quality-control coach, helping none other than the team’s ace, Framber Valdez.
Maldonado had the honor of catching Valdez during the Houston Astros’ World Series championship run in 2022 and even during Valdez’s no-hitter on August 1, 2023, against the Cleveland Guardians.
The historical splits support the move; opponents posted a .702 OPS against Valdez overall compared to a measly .631 in games Maldonado caught him, and Valdez has thrown more career innings to him than to any other catcher.
The Tigers are counting on this familiar relationship to turn things around for the $115 million signee, who posted a 4.03 ERA in 2026.
Using Valdez with a well-known catcher could settle down the pitching rotation. It would also fall right in the middle of a major overhaul of the dugout.
Tigers Still Have Staff Holes to Fill After Rough Year
Valdez is part of an entire staff that needs to be overhauled. The Tigers posted a 76-86 record, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2023, despite appearances in two straight years (2024 and 2025). What went wrong? May will explain.
The president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, said that the worst May, 6-22, was the reason the team failed to make the playoffs.
With a 16-16 record at the beginning, the team fell 16 games under .500 by the time June came around, a hole the Tigers never climbed out of.
The staff turnover began in July, with Billy Boyer moving from quality control to third base to replace Joey Cora. After that, head athletic trainer Ryne Eubanks, assistant trainer Chris McDonald, first-base coach Anthony Sanders, and assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves have also departed.
Hinch, who signed his second contract in 2025, has a 470-502 record in six years as Detroit’s manager. Maldonado will be joining a coaching staff that features catching coach Ryan Sienko and Gold Glove catcher Dillon Dingler, while the first-base and pitching coach positions remain unfilled.