Astros could end up getting their ideal backup catcher if offseason trends hold

With other teams potentially angling toward a path to land Tatsuya Imai or Kazuma Okamoto before the end of the week, one of the top priorities for the Houston Astros is finding a backup catcher. Sure, Imai would look great in an Astros uniform, but they don't have the payroll space to pull off such a move--hence why finding an affordable backup catcher is one of their more pressing items of business.

At the start of the offseason, the stated priority for Houston was to bring back Victor Caratini. Caratini has been an invaluable piece to the Astros' roster since his arrival in 2024, and his switch-hitting profile also allows for some creativity with the DH spot in the starting lineup.

That being said, with a thin market for free-agent catchers, there was a sense that Caratini may find a starting job elsewhere. Though what may have been overlooked at the time is that there aren't exactly many starting catching jobs open across Major League Baseball.

Astros may have a clear path toward bringing back Victor Caratini

After the Rangers signed Danny Jansen earlier this month, the Philadelphia Phillies are the only team with a clear need for a starting catcher. That's because J.T. Realmuto is a free agent, but there remains an expectation that he will find his way back to Philadelphia before spring training.

In a trend that has become the norm for Major League Baseball's offseason, it's still early despite it being the end of December. In the past, January would be the time to look for bargain-bin deals among the free agent scraps that have been left over. That isn't the case for this current version of baseball's offseason, and there certainly could be a surprise team that emerges in the coming weeks as a clear suitor for Caratini. Assuming they are dangling regular playing time in front of Caratini, he certainly would take that option as opposed to a return to Houston.

But, if the trends of the catching market continue, it would seem clear that the Astros will be the obvious suitor for Caratini. It would mark a win for Dana Brown and Co., though the expectations of the offseason have been significantly lowered.