Victor Caratini

Victor Caratini's Biography

Víctor Manuel Caratini was born on August 17, 1993, in Coamo, Puerto Rico. His journey into professional baseball began quite early and, today, he has achieved major recognition in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a prominent catcher for the Houston Astros.

The roots of Caratini’s MLB career are traced back to his time with the Miami Dade College. In the second round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, Caratini was selected by the Atlanta Braves. Starting his professional career with the team’s affiliate, the Danville Braves, Caratini subsequently moved from occupying mainly the third base position to being primarily a catcher in the following year.

In the 2014 season, Caratini began with the Rome Braves. He experienced the first of many career moves on July 31, 2014, as he was traded from the Braves to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio and James Russell. The Cubs assigned him to the Kane County Cougars, where he celebrated the conclusion of the season.

Caratini continued fostering his talent and ability in the subsequent years, spending the 2015 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans with a .257 batting average, four home runs, and 53 RBIs. In the following year, with the Tennessee Smokies, he improved his batting average to .291, scored six home runs and contributed 47 RBIs. Demonstrating his growth after the 2016 season, Caratini played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League and earned a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.

He kicked off the 2017 season with the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, earning a promotion to the major leagues later that year on June 28. Participating in 31 games with the 2017 Cubs, Caratini secured a .254 batting average with one home run and two RBIs. His engagements in the 2018 MLB games improved to 76, with a .232 batting average, two home runs, and 21 RBIs. He also showed his versatility by pitching in late July, playing a total of two innings, and conceding two runs.

Moving onward, Caratini continued to solidify his position in 2019 as one of the two main catchers for the Cubs, joining forces with Willson Contreras. In 95 games for the Cubs that year, Caratini achieved a career-high with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs, reflecting his .266/.348/.447 slash line.

Despite the shorter 2020 season due to the pandemic, Caratini had a remarkable feat catching a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers for Alec Mills on September 13. Overall, he had a .241/.333/.328 batting average in 44 games with a home run and 16 RBIs in over 132 plate appearances for the Chicago Cubs.

However, by December 29, he and teammate Yu Darvish were traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Zach Davies, Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana, Ismael Mena, and Owen Caissie. The 2021 season was a notable period for Caratini as he caught the Padres’ first-ever no-hitter pitched by Joe Musgrove, against the Texas Rangers, making him the first MLB catcher to catch consecutive no-hitters for two different teams.

Caratini played in a career-high 116 games in 2021, batting .227/.309/.323 with 7 home runs and 39 RBIs. He hit his first career walk-off home run against the Cincinnati Reds during that season. On March 22, 2022, Caratini signed a $2 million contract with the Padres, avoiding salary arbitration, but later in April, traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Brett Sullivan and Korry Howell.

Now with the Brewers, Caratini attained his second career walk-off home run on July 4, 2022, against his former team, the Chicago Cubs. He played 95 games with Milwaukee that season, batting .199/.300/.342 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs.

In January 2023, he agreed to a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Brewers. Later that year, on December 6, he signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Houston Astros, his current team.

Captivating fans on April 30, 2024, Caratini hit a pinch-hit, walk-off, 2-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, securing a 10–9 final score against the Cleveland Guardians. A few weeks later, he secured another victory for the Astros with a pinch-hit, walk-off 10th-inning single against the Oakland Athletics on May 14. In June, Caratini made headlines with his first major league triple in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Even though Caratini suffered a left hip flexor strain that saw him on the 10-day IL from June 21, 2024, he came back stronger on his activation on July 22. He concluded August with catching Spencer Arrighetti’s near no-hit bid against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Throughout his more than a decade-long career in professional baseball, Víctor Manuel Caratini has showcased his talent and versatility, his passion for the game, and his commitment to his team. His story continues to be one of determination and outstanding achievement.