CHICAGO ¨C The White Sox added veteran catcher Mart¨ªn Maldonado via a one-year, $4.25 million contract with a 2025 option for his exceptional work with pitchers and his overall leadership.

It was not a free agent signing based on his offense. But after an 0-for-4 showing during a 6-4 loss to the Red Sox in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field, ending the White Sox two-game winning streak, Maldonado has hit a low level of production not expected by the team or the accomplished veteran.

He¡¯s 7-for-99 over 35 games with one double, one home run, and a .235 OPS. Maldonado is 1-for-46 with one RBI in his last 15 games, with his last hit coming on May 11 against Cleveland, and is hitless in his last 35 at-bats.

¡°I¡¯ve been in this game long enough to understand that¡¯s the nature of the game,¡± Maldonado said. ¡°The only thing you can control is keep working, put in my work on a daily basis.

¡°I¡¯m doing that. The outcome at the end of the year is going to show up. I couldn¡¯t be this bad for the whole season. We play this game for results. I take it one day at a time.¡±

Maldonado hit in the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs after left-hander Brennan Bernardino struck out Oscar Col¨¢s with runners on second and third and one out and then intentionally walked Lenyn Sosa. Maldonado fell behind at 0-2 before flying out to center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, leaving the game tied at 3.

In the eighth, with the White Sox leading, 4-3, and Sosa on third with one out, Maldonado chased a Kenley Jansen cutter up and well out of the zone for a swinging third strike. The White Sox didn¡¯t score in the frame, and Boston tied the game with one run in the ninth.

Manager Pedro Grifol defended his move not to go to a pinch-hitter, such as catcher Korey Lee, in either situation.

¡°We¡¯re in a 3-3 ballgame in the sixth inning, and there¡¯s a reason why Maldonado catches. And there¡¯s a reason I give Korey days off, too,¡± Grifol said. ¡°Korey had run a stretch of 10 or 11 games in a row and Maldonado does a really good job behind the plate, but I understand. I get it.

¡°[Maldonado's] not swinging it. It¡¯s a hot topic every time he catches. It¡¯s going to continue to be a hot topic. And I¡¯m going to continue to make decisions that I feel are best for the team, not just offensively, [but] defensively as well. Bottom line is we took a 4-3 lead into the ninth, and yeah, we could have extended it there, but I like him in these types of games, in these types of situations.¡±

Grifol said he was ¡°kicking¡± himself for not going to right-handed-hitting Danny Mendick for Col¨¢s in that sixth more so than anything with Maldonado. Lee has become the team¡¯s No. 1 catcher, and credits Maldonado for helping him develop, but Grifol certainly is not turning away from what he considers Maldonado¡¯s valuable presence.

¡°I like what he does behind the plate and I value that, tremendously. Some people don¡¯t. I do,¡± Grifol said. ¡°I'm not just going to go through this every single day, whatever the at-bat is, whether it be second inning, fourth inning, I believe in what he does defensively."

¡°You guys have seen it,¡± Maldonado said. ¡°It only takes one pitch. It only takes one call from somebody. Could be a blooper, a broken bat, a hit-by-pitch or something. I feel like yesterday I got a good walk and hit a couple of balls hard. Just stay positive.¡±