Puerto Rican Catcher Martin Maldonado Will Retire From Major League Baseball And Play In 2026 World Baseball Classic For His Nation

Maldonado Announces Retirement And Final Appearance For Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican veteran catcher Martin Maldonado announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on October 18 and will play his final competitive event representing his nation at the 2026 World Baseball Classic this March. The Baseball Aficionado announced the news on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Martin Maldonado announced his retirement from MLB pic.twitter.com/mI9ngNTpps

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 18, 2025

 

Advance International Baseball Researcher Shawn Spradling surfaced Maldonado’s tribute video confirming that he will play in the 2026 WBC for Puerto Rico on October 18.
https://x.com/Shawn_Spradling/status/1979561756788944959b

The only other player from Puerto Rico to appear in the WBC after retiring from MLB was four-time World Series champion Bernie Williams, who represented his country in 2006 and 2009.

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World Baseball Classic History

Maldonado has played in the 2013 and 2023 WBC for Puerto Rico during his career.

In 2013, he helped Puerto Rico reach the championship game at AT&T Park in San Francisco, where they fell 3-0 to the Dominican Republic. Maldonado appeared in five games and did not record a hit in nine at-bats, scoring one run, walking twice, and striking out nine times.

During the 2023 event, Maldonado played in four games and hit .333/.467/.333 in 12 at-bats, scoring five runs, collecting four hits, walking twice, and striking out three times before Puerto Rico lost 5-4 in the quarterfinals against Mexico at loanDepot Park.

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Major League Career

Maldonado’s 15 MLB seasons included helping the Houston Astros win their second World Series title in 2022 and earning a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2017.

He played with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011–16, Los Angeles Angels from 2017–18, Houston Astros in 2018 and 2019–23, Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs in 2019, Chicago White Sox in 2024, and the San Diego Padres in 2025.

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Puerto Rico’s 2026 WBC Catching Picture

Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina will lead the national team for a second consecutive WBC and will evaluate other catchers alongside Maldonado, such as Christian Vázquez and Victor Caratini.

Early Look at Potential 2026 Puerto Rico WBC Roster

 

Winter Ball And Current Form

Maldonado is currently playing in the 2025-26 LIDOM season for the defending Caribbean Series champion Leones del Escogido.

He has appeared in three games, batting .167 in six plate appearances with one hit and four strikeouts.

All regular season games of the 2025-26 LIDOM season can be streamed here with a paid subscription through the league’s championship series in late January before the 2026 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela.

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Final MLB Season

The 39-year-old from Naguabo, Puerto Rico played his final MLB season with the Padres in 2025. He was designated for assignment on July 31, released on August 6, and re-signed to a minor league deal on August 31 but did not appear in another Major League game.

Under recently retired manager Mike Shildt, San Diego rotated Freddy Fermín, Elias Díaz, and Luis Campusano at catcher before being eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series.

In 2025, Maldonado played 64 MLB games, hitting .204/.245/.327 with 30 hits, six doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs, eight walks, and 57 strikeouts over 161 plate appearances.

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Winter League Career And Final Seasons

During the 2024-25 winter season, Maldonado split time between Indios de Mayagüez in Puerto Rico’s Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente and Leones del Escogido in LIDOM.

He began with Escogido, hitting .114/.184/.314 with two home runs in 10 games before joining Mayagüez on December 15, 2024. With the Indios, he hit .135/.195/.216 in 12 games, collecting five hits and one home run.

Maldonado later signed a minor league deal with the Padres on January 16, 2025, was assigned to Triple-A El Paso, and received a non-roster invitation to big league camp on February 7.

In 2024, Maldonado appeared in 48 games for the White Sox, hitting .119/.174/.230 with four home runs and 11 RBIs before being released on July 21.

Across 15 MLB seasons, he appeared in 1,230 games, posting a 6.1 WAR in 4,028 plate appearances with a .203 career average, 731 hits, 138 doubles, four triples, 119 home runs, 384 RBIs, three stolen bases, 304 walks, 1,107 strikeouts, and a .620 OPS.

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2026 World Baseball Classic Information

The 2026 World Baseball Classic will be televised on FOX for the second consecutive time since 2023. Major League Baseball and World Baseball Classic Inc. made the announcement on October 7.

FOX also announced they secured U.S. broadcast rights through the 2026 WBC Championship Game on March 17 from Miami’s loanDepot Park.

You heard it here first from @kevinburkhardt, @AROD, @davidortiz and @derekjeter!@FOXSports has secured the U.S. rights to the 2026 World Baseball Classic which culminates in the WBC Championship Game on Tuesday, March 17 from Miami’s loanDepot Park. pic.twitter.com/ajctwl4HXB

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 7, 2025

This marks FOX Sports’ 30th year covering Major League Baseball since 1996.

Japan has won the most WBC championships with three (2006, 2009, 2023). The United States won in 2017 and the Dominican Republic in 2013.

The WBC is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation alongside Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association, and WBC Inc., which co-organize the event during spring training.

Full pool matchups and venues are listed at MLB venues.

If teams finish with identical records in pool play, the Total Quality Balance (run differential) tiebreaker will apply, along with head-to-head results.

The 2026 WBC pools will be held as follows:

Pool A – San Juan, Puerto Rico (Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Pool B – Houston, Texas (Daikin Park)
Pool C – Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Dome)
Pool D – Miami, Florida (loanDepot Park)

Quarterfinals are set for March 13 (Daikin Park) and March 14 (loanDepot Park).
Semifinals: March 15–16.
Championship Game: March 17, all at loanDepot Park.

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2026 WBC Pool Matchups With Confirmed Dates

(All times Eastern Daylight Time)

Pool A – Puerto Rico, Colombia, Panama, Canada, Cuba
Venue – Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan, Puerto Rico

March 6
Game 1 – Cuba vs. Panama – 11 a.m.
Game 2 – Puerto Rico vs. Colombia – 6 p.m.

March 7
Game 3 – Colombia vs. Canada – 11 a.m.
Game 4 – Panama vs. Puerto Rico – 6 p.m.

March 8
Game 5 – Colombia vs. Cuba – 12 p.m.
Game 6 – Panama vs. Canada – 7 p.m.

March 9
Game 7 – Colombia vs. Panama – 12 p.m.
Game 8 – Cuba vs. Puerto Rico – 7 p.m.

March 10
Game 9 – Canada vs. Puerto Rico – 7 p.m.

March 11
Game 10 – Canada vs. Cuba – 3 p.m.

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Pool B – United States, Mexico, Brazil, Great Britain, Italy
Venue – Daikin Park – Houston, Texas

March 6
Game 1 – Mexico vs. Great Britain – 1 p.m.
Game 2 – United States vs. Brazil – 8 p.m.

March 7
Game 3 – Brazil vs. Italy – 1 p.m.
Game 4 – Great Britain vs. United States – 8 p.m.

March 8
Game 5 – Great Britain vs. Italy – 1 p.m.
Game 6 – Brazil vs. Mexico – 8 p.m.

March 9
Game 7 – Brazil vs. Great Britain – 1 p.m.
Game 8 – Mexico vs. United States – 8 p.m.

March 10
Game 9 – Italy vs. United States – 9 p.m.

March 11
Game 10 – Italy vs. Mexico – 7 p.m.

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Pool C – Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia, South Korea, Czech Republic
Venue – Tokyo Dome – Tokyo, Japan

March 5
Game 1 – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia – March 4 – 10 p.m.
Game 2 – Czechia vs. South Korea – 5 a.m.

March 6
Game 3 – Australia vs. Czechia – March 5 – 10 p.m.
Game 4 – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei – 5 a.m.

March 7
Game 5 – Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia – March 6 – 10 p.m.
Game 6 – South Korea vs. Japan – 5 a.m.

March 8
Game 7 – Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea – March 7 – 10 p.m.
Game 8 – Australia vs. Japan – 6 a.m.

March 9
Game 9 – South Korea vs. Australia – 6 a.m.

March 10
Game 10 – Czechia vs. Japan – 6 a.m.

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Pool D – Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Venezuela, Israel, Nicaragua
Venue – loanDepot Park – Miami, Florida

March 6
Game 1 – Netherlands vs. Venezuela – 12 p.m.
Game 2 – Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic – 7 p.m.

March 7
Game 3 – Nicaragua vs. Netherlands – 12 p.m.
Game 4 – Israel vs. Venezuela – 7 p.m.

March 8
Game 5 – Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic – 12 p.m.
Game 6 – Nicaragua vs. Israel – 7 p.m.

March 9
Game 7 – Dominican Republic vs. Israel – 12 p.m.
Game 8 – Venezuela vs. Nicaragua – 7 p.m.

March 10
Game 9 – Israel vs. Netherlands – 7 p.m.

March 11
Game 10 – Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela – 8 p.m.