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.