Astros finally pull off signing that was painfully obvious to everyone else but them

Not all signings are for big names, but that doesn't mean they are not important, nor does it mean that they weren't always obvious fits. The Houston Astros made a couple of relatively splashy moves this past offseason, including signing Tatsuya Imai and trading for Mike Burrows, but a very clear (if minor) roster need continued to get ignored at catcher.

No one thinks that Yainer Diaz won't get the lion's share of the playing time at catcher. His bat simply has too much upside to jump ship despite a relatively down 2025 season. However, the departure of Victor Caratini created an opening further down the catcher depth chart that felt like an obvious fit for free agent catcher Christian Vasquez.

Despite having familiarity with Vasquez from his short stint with the team in 2022, as well as no shortage of rumors of their interest in Vasquez, the days and weeks went by, and Houston still was without the extra catcher they needed, and Vasquez was still without a job. Both of those facts changed on Saturday when it was reported that the Astros signed Vasquez to a minor-league deal.

Astros add Christian Vasquez on a minor league contract in a move that finally addresses the need for a backup catcher

Now, is signing Vasquez going to shake up the natural order in the AL West? No, it is not. Vasquez has not had a good season at the plate in years, and again, Diaz will be playing most of the time. Vasquez has averaged about 87 games per year in Minnesota, but you can probably bank on that total being significantly lower in Houston.

What adding Vasquez DOES do is give the Astros an insurance policy. Diaz is not a sure thing thanks to his questionable framing/defense and aggressive tendencies at the plate. Additionally, the Astros previously lacked a viable plan in the event that Diaz got hurt behind the plate. While Vasquez may not be an offensive asset, the guy can play a unique position in the field if needed, which is good enough at this point.

As to why this move took so long to pull off is anyone's guess. Perhaps Houston wasn't sure if Vasquez was the right guy in the right role for them. Maybe Vasquez was holding out for a major league deal while the Astros dug in on wanting to hand out a minor league deal. Whatever the case, the deal finally got done, and the last major offseason checklist item (other than striking a trade or two to clear out their roster/payroll) finally got checked off.