Martin Maldonado to start Tuesday's Cubs-Reds game |
Tony Crumpton
· · Tuesday, July 16 2019
The Chicago Cubs made a splash on Monday night acquiring veteran catcher Martin Maldonaldo from the Royals in exchange for swingman Mike Montgomery.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon was on The 670 Score Tuesday and said that Maldonado will start tonight's game against the Reds and will bring some talent to the North Side. "He's good, very good," Maddon said. "He's a very desirable major league catcher. He receives well, throws well. He'll hit a home run now and then too. He's got some really good pull power, but defense is his benchmark." Maddon thinks that Maldonado will bring some veteran leadership to the ballclub. "A great clubhouse guy, he's a team leader, all that kind of stuff," he said. "You see the stuff on the field, that's easy to evaluate. But then you really get to know the guy off the field and apparently, we're really going to benefit from his presence." Maldonado is batting .227 with six homers, 17 RBIs and a .657 OPS in 75 games this season.
