Ranking the available free agent catchers the Astros could sign this offseason

After a truly brutal season out of Martin Maldonado, it finally looks like the Houston Astros may be willing to turn the page at catcher. Maldy was a huge part of the Astros' success in recent years, but Father Time finally caught up with him and Houston made the commitment to make Yainer Diaz their primary catcher in 2024.

While it is certainly good news that the Astros are finally going with the strictly superior player at catcher and letting Maldonado hit free agency, there is still the matter of who is going to be backing Diaz up next season. Yainer is immensely talented, but he is still very young and having a strong back-up in the event that he falters who can also mentor him in how to manage a pitching staff needs to be a priority this offseason.

Ranking the Astros' free agent options at catcher

It is fortunate that Houston doesn't need a primary catcher next season because this free agent crop of catchers is decidedly lacking in everyday guys. However, there are a number of quality back-up options out there at the moment who could fit the mold for what the Astros should be looking for going into the 2024. Instead of ranking each catcher against each other, this is going to be more of a tier list format as there just isn't enough to differentiate each individual free agent catcher. If you notice a free agent isn't listed, it is probably best to assume that said player probably shouldn't be considered.

Anyways, enough on the rules here. Let's look at this year's free agent catcher class.

Top Tier catchers in this free agent class

Mitch Garver

(end of list)

Without question, the best catcher on the free agent market right now is Mitch Garver. A key cog in the Rangers' offense in 2023 that took them all the way to the World Series title, Garver slashed .270/.370/.500 with 19 homers in 87 games of work. In terms of offensively-inclined catchers, it is hard to get much better than that. One point in his favor is that Texas decided not to give Garver a qualifying offer, although he probably would have immediately signed it if they did.

There are some downsides with Garver, however. He isn't a particularly good defensive catcher which is exactly why he has been a back-up for the last several seasons despite his upside at the plate. His framing isn't particularly bad or anything, but he also isn't going to win any awards for his ability to steal strikes, either. There are also some platoon concerns as tough righties can give him some trouble. The ideal situation for him would be as a backup catcher who also sees significant time at DH.

Given that Garver is expected to get a two year deal in the neighborhood of $12-14 million this offseason, it would represent a significant investment on the Astros' part. Signing him shouldn't be considered likely as Yordan Alvarez is going to get as many plate appearances at DH as is humanly possible and Garver doesn't seem to have the defensive acumen to mentor Diaz. However, if Houston thinks having a guy like him spell Yordan from time to time would help keep Alvarez fresh in addition to backing Diaz up, it isn't completely impossible that the Astros could kick the tires here.

Quality back-up catchers on the free agent market

Victor Caratini
Manny Piña
Yasmani Grandal
Mike Zunino
Austin Hedges
Gary Sanchez
Tucker Barnhart

This is the group that, hopefully, the Astros will be picking from this offseason. These are all guys that may not be good enough to be primary catchers under ideal circumstances, but have the experience to pass along useful information to Diaz about how to succeed as a catcher while being able backstops themselves.

The name to keep an eye on here is Victor Caratini. While he had to yield to the arrival of William Contreras in Milwaukee last season, Caratini put up strong defensive and framing numbers while putting up a reasonable .711 OPS at the plate. Caratini has been highly regarded as a back-up catcher for a while now and may be the best of the Astros' options here.

Gary Sanchez hits absolute tanks, but isn't particularly strong in the field and his hit tool is very, very suspect. If the Astros are looking for a high offensive upside backup, Mike Zunino is probably the best option as he has shown to be a decent defender in the past while also possessing the ability to hit the ball out of the park.

Yasmani Grandal's best days are behind him, but he isn't uninteresting as a backup option with Hedges, Barnhart, and Piña also all having experience as quality back-ups with some shortcomings at the plate that have kept them from getting primary catching roles.