13 articles
HOU • C
about 1 month ago
Caratini should have been in greater demand when he signed a two-year, $12 million deal to become Yainer Diaz’s backup in 2024, and he probably will be this time around. Getting extra playing time with Yordan Alvarez often injured, Caratini, 32, appeared in 114 games this season and hit .259/.325/.404 in a career-high 386 plate appearances. He deserves to be a starter for the next couple of years.
Source: Brian McTaggert
HOU • C
2 months ago
The timing is notable on the heels of Tuesday’s bizarre on-field incident between ace Framber Valdez and backup catcher César Salazar. The 32-year-old backstop has cleared concussion protocol and will return for Wednesday’s showdown against the Yankees at Daikin Park.
HOU • C
2 months ago
Caratini is asymptomatic after suffering his head injury, which is great news for him and the Astros. The 27-year-old should be back Wednesday for Houston and see plenty of time behind the plate and at DH.
Source: Houston Chronicle
HOU • C
3 months ago
Caratini is in concussion protocol after taking a couple foul tips off the catcher’s mask earlier this week. The fact that Yainer Diaz is still dealing with some lingering wrist soreness means that César Salazar will likely handle the bulk of the catching duties for a couple days.
HOU • C
3 months ago
Yainer Diaz has started to turn things around recently, but there’s still reason to be down on him somewhat, since Yordan Alvarez finally seems to be making some progress with his finger. Once he returns, the Astros would mostly lose the ability to play Diaz and Caratini together, which they’ve done frequently with the DH spot open the last couple of months. Caratini, arguably the league’s most overqualified backup, is batting .267/.314/.424, compared to .254/.284/.420 for Diaz.
HOU • C
4 months ago
Caratini plated a run with a single in the seventh inning that extended the Astros’ lead to 6-3. He then capped off the scoring in the ballgame with a two-run double in the seventh that made it 11-3. With his three-hit attack, the 31-year-old backstop is now slashing .272/.321/.447 with 10 long balls and 36 RBI on the year.
HOU • C
4 months ago
Caratini’s home run was No. 10 on the year for him. The 31-year-old catcher is coming off a career-high 111 OPS+ last year and continuing his hot hitting this year. Caratini is hitting .256 with a .750 OPS and 32 RBI this season. He’s still been irrelevant in most fantasy leagues, but has been essential in two-catcher AL-Only formats.
HOU • C
4 months ago
Caratini’s slam came off Noah Davis in a game where Davis allowed 10 runs in 1 1/3 innings. The 31-year-old also doubled twice and scored a pair of runs while improving his slash to a decent — if underwhelming — .254/.308/.429 to go with eight homers.
HOU • C
4 months ago
Caratini knocked a base hit in the second inning, then took Chase Dollander deep with the bases loaded for a grand slam in the third. The 31-year-old backstop has been getting regular playing time, mixing in at catcher and designated hitter with Yordan Alvarez out of action. Caratini is hitting a solid .246/.303/.402 with seven homers and 23 RBI across 198 plate appearances.
HOU • C
5 months ago
Caratini clobbered a homer in the eighth inning off Matt Strahm to extend the Houston lead to 2-0. It’s the sixth homer of the season for the 31-year-old, and half of those have come in the month of June. Caratini has hit a respectable .251/.314/.401 in 2025 while driving in 18 runs over 167 at-bats.
HOU • C
5 months ago
Caratini came up against Mason Miller with a pair of runners on base, and launched his sixth homer of the year to tie the game at 4-4. He went hitless with three strikeouts in his other at-bats, but fantasy managers will take three-run homer games regardless of the other results. Caratini had just three hits in his first 10 games of June, but six in three games for this series against the Athletics.
HOU • C
5 months ago
Caratini also scored a pair. One of those runs was on a three-run blast to left field that extended Houston’s lead to 9-1. The 31-year-old was hitting just .132 in June coming into Wednesday’s affair, but he now has back-to-back appearances with multiple hits.
HOU • C
6 months ago
Caratini deserves better than being the backup to a quality catcher in Yainer Diaz, but not enough teams realized it when he was a free agent two winters ago. The Astros used both guys tonight, with Diaz going 2-for-4 with two RBI as a DH. Caratini is batting .255/.356/.431 in 59 plate appearances in his limited role.