Victor Caratini

Once the personal catcher for Yu Darvish, Caratini is now on to his third organization in four seasons, having signed a two-year contract with the Astros in December. While he hasn't endeared himself to another high-profile pitcher in recent years, he grades well in terms of pitch framing. He also hit more home runs in his two seasons with Milwaukee (16) than he did in four years with the Cubs to begin his career (15). Caratini, now 30, shouldn't be counted on to approach last year's batting average of .259 given his .236 career mark, but he does enough damage on fastballs to be a useful backup in Major League Baseball. The Astros have been clear about their intention to have Yainer Diaz take over as the primary backstop, but Caratini will likely see a couple starts per week and perhaps more if Diaz struggles to meet expectations.

Caratini and Omar Narvaez split the starts behind the plate nearly down the middle last season, and only the former remains on the roster for 2023. However, the Brewers added fellow backstop William Contreras over the offseason, and he is set to be Milwaukee's primary catcher moving forward. Caratini swings from both the right and left side, but he had a rough go of it against southpaws last season, so expect the bulk of his starts to come against righties. If Caratini plays the type of defense he did last season he will still make a start or two a week, and his .228 BABIP suggests he could hit a bit more than he did a season ago.

Caratini was traded to Milwaukee just before the start of the 2022 regular season to serve as the No. 2 backstop behind Omar Narvaez after Pedro Severino was issued an 80-game suspension Tuesday. Caratini appeared in 116 games for the Padres last year and slashed .227/.309/.323 with seven home runs, 39 RBI, 33 runs and two stolen bases.

Caratini took advantage of the National League's new designated hitter rule in 2020 and appeared in 44 of the Cubs' 60 games, but he didn't translate the playing time into much power. He hit just one home run in 116 at-bats after launching 11 long balls in 244 at-bats in 2019. As a result, Caratini's slugging percentage fell from .447 in 2019 to .328 last season. While the offensive production wasn't there, Caratini did serve as Yu Darvish's personal catcher all season, and the latter turned in a dominant campaign. Consequently, those two will likely pair up again in 2021 after they were both sent west to the Padres in a December trade. Should the National League bring back the DH for another season, he could slot back in there as well. If Caratini finds his stroke from 2019, he could post a decently productive year.

Caratini might be one of the 20 best catchers in the league, but he won't be a starter as long as he remains on the same roster as Willson Contreras. In 279 plate appearances for the Cubs last season, Caratini managed 11 homers and a .266/.348/.447 slash line. That was good for a 108 wRC+, ranking 11th among catchers who came to the plate at least 250 times. He was a contributor on the defensive end behind the plate and also showed the flexibility to start 11 games at first base. While his bat seems good enough to be an asset as a catcher, it's not at the level where the Cubs will feel compelled to keep him in the lineup when he's not catching. Caratini will have appeal in all formats if Contreras suffers an injury. His position on the depth chart puts him in the second-catcher bin in 15-team mixed leagues to start the year. You could do worse when digging through that bin.

Caratini spent the bulk of 2018 as the Cubs' backup catcher and performed the basic duties expected of a player in that role. In 200 plate appearances, he hit .232/.293/.304 and managed two home runs. Combined that with below-average framing numbers and there's little reason to believe Caratini is close to carving out a larger share of the workload, and he may even have trouble sticking around the big leagues. The mediocre defense was in line with his prospect reports, but he was supposed to hit well enough to be a solid backup with the potential for more. Catchers can be slow to develop, so it's certainly possible the bat eventually comes around for the 25-year-old. Nothing in Caratini's stat line in 2018 suggests he was particularly unlucky, however, so it will take real development rather than mere positive regression for him to be an asset in 2019.

Catchers who can hit are so sparse that a player who projects to hit a somewhat empty .285 can be considered a bat-first catcher. Part of the "bat-first" label stems from the fact that he is a fringe-average defender, so his bat needs to carry the day. The 24-year-old had been splitting time between catcher and first base in the minors, but he won't be cutting into Anthony Rizzo's at-bats at the big-league level -- although he may technically be second on the depth chart there. Willson Contreras is superior in every facet of the game, so Caratini will be limited to a backup role for the foreseeable future, assuming he can beat out the veteran Chris Gimenez for a roster spot. He has a chance to be a plus hitter, flirting with .300 in his peak seasons, but it will likely take him a while to reach his offensive ceiling, as he will be seeing limited game reps going forward. He has some power, but would likely need 350-plus plate appearances to hit double-digit home runs, and he would need Contreras or Rizzo to get injured to approach that mark.

Converted from a third baseman to a catcher in 2014, Caratini is looking to follow the same career path as organizational mate Willson Contreras, who made the same conversion two years earlier. The switch-hitter has shown impressive plate skills, posting a 129 wRC+ and 80:54 K:BB in 480 plate appearances at Double-A. If he were to continue on this trajectory, Caratini would have a chance to be an above-average offensive contributor at the position. However, he needs to stick behind the plate for the profile to remain appealing in dynasty leagues. Most reports suggest the defense just is not there for him to project as a starting catcher in the big leagues, so for now he is simply a player to follow in case he can make major improvements with his arm and glove.