On Tuesday, reports indicated that the Houston Astros and catcher Victor Caratini reached a consensus on a two-year, $12 million contract. The agreement allows for additional performance bonuses for Caratini.
Victor Caratini, aged 30, had a stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in the last two seasons. In the most recent season, he served as a backup to William Contreras and posted a .259 batting average with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 62 games.
Looking ahead to the next season, Yainer Díaz is anticipated to assume the role of starting catcher for the Astros. The signing of Caratini potentially signals that the team may not bring back Martín Maldonado, a 37-year-old catcher who has been with the Astros since 2019.
New manager Joe Espada shared insights on the team’s preparations, stating on Monday, “I’ve been talking to Yainer once a week. We’re going to do some things in January leading into spring training to prep him for spring training. I don’t want us to get to spring training and start from scratch. So this is going to be starting right now, having conversations about our staff, how to attack certain lineups, things that we know that we can help him with, receiving, throwing.”
