He's been terrible but you were in love with Maldy which is the only reason you care. He was even worse
Those passed balls were part of Maldy's super-secret pitcher-whispering. He is building their confidence by demonstrating they can spin the ball so much that even the world's best catcher cannot catch it. 4D chess, like everything else Dusty and Maldy did.
Fangraphs has 2023 Maldonado as one of the 10-20 worst position players with any meaningful playing time. Baseball reference is more favorable and has several 100 position players as worse. Neither is good, but the difference between the two is one of the worst regulars to a little below replacement value. He did not have enough plate appearances to technically be “qualified” in 2023. Diaz has not been great this year, but he’s still been significantly better than Maldy was.
The damage that Maldonado has done to the Astros fan base is incredible. The 2025 season is almost over and we are still fighting over maldy