Clubhouse leader Maile to return on one-year deal?

CINCINNATI -- The Reds' backup catcher and a key veteran team leader is returning to the Reds in 2024. Luke Maile was signed to a one-year contract with a club option for 2025. Maile is guaranteed to earn $3.5 million.

Maile, 32, would have been a free agent after the 2023 World Series ended.

“He was great with all of our guys," Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "Staff loved him, players loved him. He was a really good fit. He’s a tremendous guy.”

In 78 games (58 starts), Maile batted .235 with a career-high six home runs and 25 RBIs.

Lauded for his work with Cincinnati's young pitchers, Maile caught 20 of rookie Andrew Abbott's 21 big league starts and several games for Hunter Greene. The Reds were 31-26 in his starts behind the plate.

Tyler Stephenson is still projected as the Reds primary catcher next season. But Maile's experience will continue to be important because every starter in the club's projected rotation has two years or less service time.

An area native of Northern Kentucky, Maile originally signed with his hometown team on Nov. 28, 2022. Many players viewed him as a vocal leader inside a young clubhouse.

When the Reds got off to a 7-15 start to the 2023 season, his voice during a team meeting was considered important to helping the team become surprise contenders for a postseason spot in the last half of the year.

“He’s a guy our pitchers were comfortable with, our coaches were comfortable with," Krall said. "We loved having him this year. It was a pretty easy decision.”