Astros decide to strengthen their catching depth and deal with Caratini. Victor Caratini, a switch-hitter, and the Astros announced on Thursday that they had reached a two-year deal, locking up their backup catcher. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by the Astros, but a source pegs its value at $12 million.
Astros general manager Dana Brown stated, “I like that he had a lot of [service] time, he’s a switch-hitter, he can really frame and block and there’s some upside with the bat.” “I felt that this would be a great match for Yainer Diaz. We can give Diaz a break on the days we’d like to and feel okay about it.
For the majority of the previous season, Caratini served as Brewers ace Corbin Burnes’ personal catcher. However, because the Brewers needed Contreras’ bat, they decided to use Contreras behind the plate when Burnes started.
In 2024, Diaz will be the starting catcher for the Astros. In the previous season, he finished fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting with a.282 average, 23 home runs, and 60 RBIs. He served as Martín Maldonado’s backup for the entire year, but his stay in Houston is coming to an end.
About Diaz’s workload, Brown stated on Monday that “he’s going to get predominantly most of the starts.” It will be significant for him to have the chance to demonstrate his abilities to us. And, in essence, he will have to post. Because of this, we occasionally need a backup to give him a break. This will be his first time having this opportunity. Indeed, he will start most of the games.
Having started for the Astros the previous four seasons, Maldonado led a pitching staff that won the World Series in 2022 and participated in three Houston Fall Classics. When Justin Verlander won the Cy Young award in 2022, he was behind the plate for the majority of his starts. He also caught two no-hitters with the Astros, including Framber Valdez’s no-hitter this season.
The White Sox, Red Sox, Padres, Marlins, and Rays are all interested in Maldonado, a source says. Maldonado continued to be the team’s starting catcher despite Diaz’s stellar performance at the plate the previous season because a number of the starting pitchers liked to throw to him for game planning and preparation. Valdez and Verlander were on that list. The Astros showed no desire to have Maldonado return to the team.
Yainer’s opportunity to catch and play every day excites me, manager Joe Espada said on Monday. With 62 games played at first base during his career, Caratini may be able to fill in for seasoned José Abreu there occasionally. On Monday, Espada said that the team was trying to figure out how to help Abreu get off the ground a little bit more in 2024.
He remarked, “We’re looking at who can back him up there.” “I’m really optimistic that he’s going to have a really good year next year because I’ve had conversations with him and he’s making some progress with his body and the things he’s doing differently. I really expect him to have a really good year next year.”