Anthony Maldonado #40

Graduated from Palm Beach Central High School (Wellington, Fla.), located approximately 30 minutes from the Astros Spring Training complex at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches...attended the same high school as teammate OF Cam Smith...Went on to attend Bethune-Cookman University (Daytona, Fla.) where he worked a starter, going 19-11 with a 3.22 ERA (83 ER/231.2 IP) over 41 games (39 starts) in a decorated three-year career...was named to the All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) First Team as a freshman and sophomore (2017-18), while also winning 2018 MEAC Pitcher of the Year after going 7-2 with a 2.81 ERA (20 ER/64 IP)...Selected by the Marlins in the 11th round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft and was converted to a reliever...was the highest-selected Bethune-Cookman pitcher since RHP Hiram Burgos was taken by the Brewers in the sixth round of the 2009 Draft...Pitched for Team Puerto Rico during the 2023 World Baseball Classic...tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in his only appearance of the tournament, coming in Puerto Rico's 9-1 win over Nicaragua at loanDepot Park in the pool-play round...was one of two pitchers on Puerto Rico's roster who had yet to make their MLB debut at the time of the tournament...While pitching for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 WBC, Maldonado credited three-time All-Star RHP Edwin Díaz for helping the young hurler feel like he belonged among the country's greats..."A guy like that is what every bullpen guy wants to be like," Maldonado said of Díaz in an interview with Our Esquina. "When he said ‘Trust your stuff, you are here for a reason,’ That meant a lot.”...Anthony's father and grandfather, both named Ovidio, played baseball at the minor league level...his grandfather was an outfielder in the Cardinals, Pirates and Phillies organizations (1956-62), while his father pitched three seasons (1981-83) in the Cardinals organization...Works mainly off his slider, which he threw at a 62.0-percent rate in the Majors in 2024 and at 51.9-percent in 2025...his slider received a 70 grade by MLB Pipeline ahead of the 2024 season...Signed with the Astros this offseason as a Minor League free agent with an invite to Major League Spring Training on Nov. 20, 2025.

2025

Was claimed off waivers by the Athletics in the offseason and spent the entire season within their organization, mostly at the Triple-A level...Posted a 12.00 ERA (8 ER/6 IP) in six appearances at the Major League level across four separate stints...Went 2-5 with a 5.10 ERA (27 ER/47.2 IP), 60 strikeouts, a .233 opponent average and 1.38 WHIP in 41 appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas...also logged a career-high 12 saves...Ranked second in the Pacific Coast League in saves and led Triple-A Las Vegas in appearances...Originally had his contract selected by the Athletics on May 16 and was optioned back to Triple-A on May 19; recalled on May 20 and optioned on May 31; recalled on June 19 and optioned on June 22.

2024

Made his Major League debut with Miami and was 1-1 with a save, a 5.68 ERA and .768 opponents OPS in 16 games, including one start, over four stints with the Marlins...Allowed a .280 opponents batting average, which broke down to .235 (8-for-34) with a .698 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .317 (13-for-41) with an .827 OPS against righthanders…surrendered his only home run to a righty...Yielded a .318 average with runners in scoring position...First batters faced were 5-for-15 (.333)…allowed his only inherited runner to score...Spent the balance of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville, where he was 4-4 with five saves, a 4.66 ERA and .789 opponents OPS in 33 relief appearances...Struck out 53 batters in 46.1 innings (10.29 per nine innings) but also walked 22 (4.27 per nine innings)...Had a .258 opponents batting average, which broke down to .216 (19-for-88) with a .709 opponents OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .300 (27-for-90) with an .866 OPS against left-handers...Converted all five of his save opportunities…allowed 2-of-10 (20.0%) inherited runners to score…first batters faced were 7-for-29 (.241) with three walks and a hit by pitch...Held the five hitter in the batting order to a .115 average but the clean-up hitter batted .455...Tossed at least one inning in 32 of his 33 appearances, including 11 outings of two innings.

2023

Posted a 1.62 ERA (9 ER/50.0 IP), going 7-3 in 37 relief appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville and Single-A Jupiter. Recorded nine saves in 13 opportunities. Made 34 appearances with the Jumbo Shrimp, going 7-3 with a 1.76 ERA (9 ER/46.0 IP), 21 walks, and 71 strikeouts in his second season at the Triple-A level. Spent time on the Injured List (June 23 to July 8) and returned to action on a rehabilitation stint with Single-A Jupiter where he struck out seven batters and allowed one hit over 4.0 innings in three games. Did not allow a run in the entire month of August (eight games). Batters went just 1x19 (.053) with five walks and eight strikeouts. Pitched for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot park. Was added to the 40-man roster following the regular season.

2022

Spent time on the Double-A and Triple-A rosters with the Marlins, pitching to a 4-3 record overall and logging a 3.03 ERA (21 ER/62.1 IP) with 20 walks and 86 strikeouts in 42 appearances. Recorded four saves. Earned promotion to Triple-A and made his Jumbo Shrimp debut on July 30. Allowed three runs on three hits (one home run) with one walk and four strikeouts over 1.2 innings. Combined to allow just three earned runs on 13 hits over 24.0 innings (1.13 ERA) to finish the season from Aug. 2 to Sept. 28 with 41 strikeouts across 14 outings with Triple-A Jacksonville and two with Double-A Pensacola.

2021

Combined to post a 4.30 ERA (14 ER/29.1 IP) in 21 games (two starts) between four levels. Started the season with Double-A Pensacola and posted a 3.38 ERA (2 ER/5.1 IP) in five games with one walk and eight strikeouts. Recorded three saves. Missed time on the Injured List and returned with the FCL Marlins. Pitched 3.0 innings there in two games with five strikeouts on July 24 and July 29. Moved to Single-A Jupiter for one outing, allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and one strikeout. Allowed one home run. Finished the year with High-A Beloit, going 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA (9 ER/19.0 IP) in 13 appearances from Aug. 8 to Sept. 19.