Astros sign catcher Victor Caratini

The Houston Astros signed catcher Victor Caratini of Ponce, Puerto Rico on Tuesday according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic and FOX Sports. He signed a two-year deal worth $12 million.

First time in the American League

Caratini has played Major League Baseball now for seven seasons. but has always been in the American League. He has previously played for the Chicago Cubs from 2017 to 2020, the San Diego Padres in 2021, and the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022 and 2023.

Caratini’s MLB statistics in 2023

Caratini batted .259 with seven home runs and 25 runs batted in. During 62 games, 201 at bats, and 226 plate appearances. Caratini scored 23 runs, and had 52 hits, four doubles, one stolen base, 77 total bases, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .327, and a slugging percentage of .383. Caratini’s stolen base was the fourth of his career and came in a 2-1 Brewers extra-inning loss to the Oakland Athletics on June 10.

Versatile as a hitter

Caratini has value for the Astros because he is a switch hitter. He can hit from both sides of the plate. Generally, he has batted more frequently as a right-handed batter because his slugging percentage is higher against right handed pitchers (.416) than left handed pitchers (.289).

Drafted by the Braves and traded twice

Caratini was the second round pick, 65th overall, by the Atlanta Braves in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft. He played his college baseball at Miami Dade. However, he never played for Atlanta, as he was traded to the Chicago Cubs on July 31, 2015 for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and relief pitcher James Russell of Cincinnati, Ohio. Later in his career, Caratini was involved in the blockbuster deal involving the Cubs and San Diego Padres. In this deal on December 29, 2020, Caratini and starting pitcher Yu Darvish of Habakino, Japan, were traded from the Cubs to the Padres for starting pitcher Zach Davies of Puyallup, Washington and four others.