Why Did the Minnesota Twins Sign Victor Caratini?

[Greggory Masterson]

Image courtesy of Brett Davis-Imagn Images

On Friday evening, Robert Murray of FanSided announced that the Twins had agreed to terms with 31-year-old free agent catcher Victor Caratini. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Twins signed a 30-something Astros backup catcher to a multi-year deal to pair with Ryan Jeffers (this also describes the Christian Vázquez signing).

The signing comes as something of a surprise to many, given the Twins’ noted lack of financial flexibility (at least among onlookers), their current catching situation, and the other holes on the roster.

So, let’s discuss who Caratini is, what sense the signing makes, and how the Twins might use his services.

Who is Victor Caratini?
A former second-round draft pick in 2013, Caratini will start his tenth season in the big leagues come Opening Day 2026. He’s spent time with the Cubs, Padres, Brewers, and Astros before Minnesota, mainly in a backup or timeshare role.

Offense
Since settling in as a semi-regular in 2019, Caratini has been a roughly league-average hitter (.245/.323/.379, .702 OPS, 94 OPS+). Although a league-average bat doesn’t sound like much, among catchers — especially backup catchers — that number carries more weight. Since 2019, catchers as a whole produced a .690 OPS, meaning that Caratini’s OPS during that time was about five percent above the average catcher.

Over the past two seasons, Caratini’s .735 OPS (.263/.329/.406) is about five percent above the average hitter and 15% better than the average catcher. Those impressive numbers have come against both righties and lefties, as Caratini is a switch-hitter with pretty even splits.

It should be noted that his best offensive production has come over the past two seasons as a member of the Astros (his age-30 and -31 seasons). Those were the only two seasons that he’s recorded a slugging percentage over .400 in his career, so it’s natural to wonder if his numbers were aided by playing in Daikan Field, where the left field fence can inflate some hitters’ power production. However, Caratini is a switch-hitter (meaning that he only hits right-handed about a third of the time), and only two of the 20 home runs he hit over the past two seasons were aided by the Crawford Boxes. A lot of his recent improvements can be chalked up to very good strike zone control (despite not walking much) and pulling fly balls more (going from a very low rate to about league average)..

As noted, Caratini has roughly even splits as a switch-hitter. He has historically been more effective against righties (batting left-handed), but in both 2024 and 2025, he improved his production against lefties, and he was more effective as a right-handed batter—albeit in about 60 plate appearances each season. His 105 OPS+ against righties since 2024 still outpaces the incumbent Ryan Jeffers’s 95 OPS+ during the same stretch.

Defense
Caratini’s defense has been a mixed bag throughout his career — in more ways than one. First, he has never been a full-time catcher. He’s topped out at 87 starts at catcher in 2021 for the Padres. His next-highest number of starts at catcher in a season was 73 in 2022 in Milwaukee. Since then, he’s logged 54, 55, and 48 starts at catcher over the past three seasons. There’s room for debate about what the Twins ought to do with him, but it seems unlikely that he’s suited for more than a timeshare role.

However, Caratini has some flexibility beyond catcher, namely at first base. He’s played over there at least once every season of his career, and he’s started double-digit games at the position four times in his nine-year career. He doesn’t have the bat to be an everyday first baseman. Still, there are worse options, and Joe Espada indicated that he was comfortable playing Caratini at first, even when another first baseman like Jon Singleton was in the lineup as the DH. Caratini has also served as a designated hitter in his career, with over half of his starts at the spot coming last season.

But anyway, back to his catching. Caratini has had a shaky performance behind the plate from year to year. He doesn’t have a particularly effective arm, and teams will run on him. His strong skill at this point in his career is as a blocker. At one point in his career, he was lauded for his framing, but that slipped in 2025.

Speaking of framing, it’s unclear how much framing will matter in 2026, the first season that MLB will adopt an automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system. Being a good receiver will still matter, but missed calls can be corrected, and we will learn in real time which catchers are effective at detecting balls and strikes, rather than making balls look like strikes. Perhaps, with this change, catchers who struggle with framing but can hit will be more valuable, and the Twins have two catchers who are above-average producers at the position.

Does This Signing Make Sense?
Yes, well, sort of. Maybe? It depends on what happens next.

As noted, the Twins are dealing with a nebulous payroll limit that has yet to be publicly disclosed. The team has many holes in the bullpen following 2026’s deadline fire sale, and it also wouldn’t have hurt to add another infielder beyond Josh Bell — either to split time at first base with Kody Clemens or to back up shortstop.

And yet, the Twins spent $14 million (seven million this season) on a second catcher, pairing Caratini with Ryan Jeffers, a quality starting catcher in his own right. And this signing comes after trading Payton Eeles for Baltimore’s Alex Jackson, whom the cash-strapped Twins owe $1.35 million. Their payroll is about $100 million right now, and 14% of that is dedicated to three catchers.

There should hypothetically be at least a couple more moves on the way as the Twins try to reassemble their bullpen, add infield depth, and sort through their surplus of big-league outfielders. Adding Caratini, even at a modest contract, raises more questions as to how they plan to fill out the rest of the roster.

But that’s a conversation for another blog. Let’s briefly touch on how Caratini might be used.

What Role Will Caratini Fill?
There are a few ways the Twins could deploy Caratini, and they all relate to the elephant in the room: Ryan Jeffers.

Timeshare
Jeffers has never taken the lion’s share of reps at catcher. He maxed out at 81 starts in 2024, and he’s been in a timeshare role every season of his career. He did get his first taste of an everyday role in 2025, and he has made comments suggesting that he hopes to finally be an everyday player this season, but that has not been Derek Falvey’s modus operandi with catchers.

Instead, Jeffers and Caratini can split duties behind the plate, even if Jeffers takes the bulk of starts. Caratini is a better hitter against righties, and Jeffers can take most plate appearances against lefties, whom he has hit far better than righties in his career. Actually, it would be possible to play both on any given day, but it would make more sense to do so against lefties.

Given Caratini’s recent success against lefties, the Twins could feasibly start one of the two at catcher and either stick Caratini at first base or Jeffers at designated hitter. It checks off a box — a platoon partner for Clemens — without using a roster space on the short side of a first base platoon.

Caratini is a Backup
Instead of splitting time, Jeffers could be relied on as a more everyday option, leaving about a third of games for Caratini at catcher. This strategy would work out to about 100 games for Jeffers and 50 for Caratini (which is right in line with the number of games he’s started at catcher over the past three seasons), with the switch-hitter mostly facing right-handed starters. Caratini could probably receive a start at designated hitter or first base each week and rack up about 300 plate appearances as Jeffers’s backup. He’s getting high-end backup money, and that’s the role he could play.

Jeffers is Traded and Caratini Starts Everyday
Alright, let’s address it. Someone here will address it in full soon, but it needs to be noted here. Jeffers is in his last season of team control and will be a free agent this offseason. He’s making a not-insubstantial $6.7 million this season, and cost-aware teams like to get something of value before letting a player walk for free in free agency.

Should Jeffers be traded, the team still has two catchers with MLB experience in Caratini and Jackson. Caratini could see the most starts of his life, with Jackson taking a quarter to a third of games himself in this scenario.

Caratini Will Primarily Play Elsewhere
Because the Twins do not have a clear picture at first base and designated hitter, it's possible that Caratini primarily plays one of those two positions. Both Clemens and Bell have hit righties better than lefties, and Caratini's recent performance has been better against lefties. Additionally, Clemens is no sure asset, and he also may be better suited for a utility role. Caratini would not be a good option at first or DH, but he might be preferable to the alternative. This may justify carrying Jackson as a third catcher.

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[sweetmusicviola16]

They also signed Jason Castro way back. So if the C wasn't an Astro we can't sign him.

[Blyleven2011]

It's definitely a mess to figure out what they are doing , for years we have had no depth at catcher or firstbase  , now they are stuck completely on both positions without really addressing other areas , with the additions at catcher and firstbase who will be the starters is anyones guess right now ...

I think jeffers will be traded along with a lefthanded outfielder ....

[Brandon]

At the beginning of the offseason the Twins didn't have a budget to work with.  THey needed a backup C.  with not being sure of what they had to work with they went out and got a low cost backup, Alex Jackson.  Then the Twins got the new minority owner approved and fixed financials a little and had the opportunity to upgrade the backup C spot.  so they signed Victor Cartini.  and now the Twins have options.  Do they trade Jackson for a minor return?  Do they trade Jeffers for a bigger return?  (Tampa Bay is looking for a C and has a few good relievers we could use.  maybe we trade a package deal of Larnarch and Jackson to Tampa or Jackson and Clemens or just Jeffers.  Or maybe its something else.  lots of options here and it reminds me of the choose your own adventure books.  

My money is on the Twins keeping all three Cs going into spring training and trading Jackson if no one gets hurt.  The Twins prefer C to be a strong position for the team.  Its always been a priority.  

[Greggory Masterson]

25 minutes ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

They also signed Jason Castro way back. So if the C wasn't an Astro we can't sign him.

My intent was for people to think of Castro, assuming they'd forget Vazquez's brief stint as an Astro. Alas!

[sweetmusicviola16]

19 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

It's definitely a mess to figure out what they are doing , for years we have had no depth at catcher or firstbase  , now they are stuck completely on both positions without really addressing other areas , with the additions at catcher and firstbase who will be the starters is anyones guess right now ...

I think jeffers will be traded along with a lefthanded outfielder ....

Right now as of today the roster construction of this team is just plain awful. Their biggest signing of Bell is a below average hitting DH. He shouldn't be playing 1B because of D and he's a below average hitting 1B. Now they are in line to be carrying 3 C's. Honestly none of them should be seeing significant time elsewhere because their bats also become below average at other positions, though one could say not on this team. Hopefully some other moves will be coming up as this team right now looks brutal in how it's put together. 

 

I'm still fine with Caratini, if some other moves are still to follow. 

[bunsen82]

I am Liking some of the moves we are making.  They aren't elite players,  but we have picked up another solid Catcher option,  and say what you will,  maybe I am ok,  with giving all the best reliever invites on the market a signing and say we will have open competition.  Come take a spot.   Beyond Dominguez I am not sure any of the remaining arms are much better than some of the arms will be AAA invitees.  

I could see us having multiple long relievers bulk pitchers in the bullpen.  Matthews, Festa SWR.  

Starting Pitching - Pablo, Ryan, Ober, Abel, Bradley.  

Bullpen -  they had another nice under the radar signing in Andrew Bash.  At this point we will see who the twins are dialed in on for a leverage reliever - I still think we sign at least 1 from the free agent market.  Otherwise,  with the bulk pitchers above, Matthews, Fests SWR - traditional bullpen - Sands, Topa, Orze, Funderburk, - signing (I would like Dominguez - lets say its Coloumbe or Rogers equivalent), 1 more reliever.    

I think you could fill in enough reliever innings.  You can gradually start to lock people in,  see which of the young players you want to remain stretched out for injury purposes,  and which ones you want to start locking into reliever rolls.  It would make sense why we haven't seemed to care about the bullpen.   The bulk pitchers is also a philosophy we have used in the minors.  Is this the year we see it transition to the major leagues.  

 

[sweetmusicviola16]

10 minutes ago, Greggory Masterson said:

My intent was for people to think of Castro, assuming they'd forget Vazquez's brief stint as an Astro. Alas!

It's tough to pull the wool over anyone's eyes here Greg. After all the Pohlad's have been trying to do that to us for years now. 

[CRF]

If you can somehow figure out WTF Falvey's doing...then you're a helluva lot sharper than I am. 

[Greggory Masterson]

21 minutes ago, CRF said:

If you can somehow figure out WTF Falvey's doing...then you're a helluva lot sharper than I am. 

My personal opinion is that they're doing what they've typically done: gone into the offseason with plans A-Z and seen where the opportunities are, with the intention to have a sensible construction by the end of the offseason.

It doesn't always work, and when it does, it's likely not what anyone has envisioned, but this has been their MO. I'd assume they were fine with Jackson, but got opportunistic with Caratini. What's next is anyone's guess, and they probably don't know either--not because they lack a plan per se, but because they have a lot of branching paths on their overall, much more nebulous plan.

[AceWrigley]

[twinstalker]

1 hour ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

They also signed Jason Castro way back. So if the C wasn't an Astro we can't sign him.

I'm surprised we haven't checked in with J. Castro.

[Danchat]

Methinks at minimum Caratini is getting half the starts at catcher no matter what else happens. I don't see Jeffers getting a bigger role and Caratini having to play elsewhere, they already have enough fringe DH/1B types on the team and Caratini's value is at catcher.

[Dman]

I can't think of an offseason where I have questioned this many moves.  Not saying what I think matters, but usually the moves while often underwhelming do feel logical.  I do think getting Caratini is a really good move and protects them if they decide to trade Jeffers now or in the future.  It also helps them next year while they wait for their young catchers to develop.

They can't afford to keep 3 catchers on the 26 man so something has to give there.  Pereda they can move up and down because he has options so it seems unlikely they chance him getting through waivers and still in the end they need to move on from one of those guys.

Kind of the same deal with a left handed hitting outfielder.  They have too many.  Someone needs to go.  On top of all that they need some relievers with MLB experience.  At minimum one and likely two.

I don't know what the budget is, but it seems like 110M is the upper limit of where they want to be.  I'm sure they could over that a little, but likely not much.  That seems to mean that one of Larnach or Jeffers needs to go to make room for some relievers.

There's a lot of time left for these moves to make some sense.  I presume the Twins thought they would be outbid for Caratini thus the Jackson move.  They could just dump Jackson as the cost was a player they didn't even draft from the independent league who was going to be a tough to fit on the team anyway.

I like the signing now let's see what else they do to fix the roster.

[TJSweens]

How many slow footed, league average hitting, subpar defensive, figures to spend time at DH players do we need?

[mikelink45]

My first thought was a JEFFERS trade.  We are now loaded with mediocre 1B options, overloaded with C, and a bench full of non-hitting utility players plus a questionable BP  What a roster.

[bunsen82]

45 minutes ago, Dman said:

I can't think of an offseason where I have questioned this many moves.  Not saying what I think matters, but usually the moves while often underwhelming do feel logical.  I do think getting Caratini is a really good move and protects them if they decide to trade Jeffers now or in the future.  It also helps them next year while they wait for their young catchers to develop.

They can't afford to keep 3 catchers on the 26 man so something has to give there.  Pereda they can move up and down because he has options so it seems unlikely they chance him getting through waivers and still in the end they need to move on from one of those guys.

Kind of the same deal with a left handed hitting outfielder.  They have too many.  Someone needs to go.  On top of all that they need some relievers with MLB experience.  At minimum one and likely two.

I don't know what the budget is, but it seems like 110M is the upper limit of where they want to be.  I'm sure they could over that a little, but likely not much.  That seems to mean that one of Larnach or Jeffers needs to go to make room for some relievers.

There's a lot of time left for these moves to make some sense.  I presume the Twins thought they would be outbid for Caratini thus the Jackson move.  They could just dump Jackson as the cost was a player they didn't even draft from the independent league who was going to be a tough to fit on the team anyway.

I like the signing now let's see what else they do to fix the roster.

They are extracting as much value as they can.  Right wrong or indifferent the Twins felt they needed a true 1st baseman so they got Bell which on a 5.5 million contract this year,  has the potential to be a really good deal.  Jackson was a cheap option if other things didn't fall into place.  For the twins Caratini did.  However,  the relief pitching market has not quite gone the Twins way in my opinion.  So if that means the Twins will put more money into positional players I am ok with it.  

Can they find enough bullpen arms.  That has been the question.   I like Orze,  I really like Bash on AAA signing.  I guess if this is the way we are going to play, sign the best 7-8 AAAA relief pitchers on minor league contracts and say we got 3 open spots for the best players.  You will have some depth in the  minors and all any starters we want to transition.  I am still waiting to see if we can trade a bat for a reliever.  We have a couple options if that were to come to form.  

There is rumors we have a limit closer to 115, and I still think Larnach gets traded.   Jackson I think gets traded but we will see.  Worst case he is nice depth to have during spring ball.   Then see if we can sneak him through waivers.   

By my count on the initial calculation we had $7.5 million left.  We will see if its a little higher or not.  Do we get a back up SS or do we think thats covered with the AAA signings and the pickup on the 40 man.  If so,  the relief market and figuring out the outfield are the key questions left.   

There is a very real possibility we get a good return on Jackson in spring training if there are injuries to other teams and his bat still looks pretty good.   We would have got a player who was set to be removed from the 40 man for the Orioles, for a player who doesn't really appear to have an MLB career, and then be able to trade him when others have a need.  Its a marginal nudge of the needle.  Do we go for a full needle change by trading Jeffers in the next 2 months.  I don't think so currently,  but if someone is willing to overpay I think we would be willing to do it.  

[Teflon]

Caratini has also appeared as a pitcher in three different MLB seasons, The Twins now have another option in blowouts.

[Sjoski]

1 hour ago, Teflon said:

The Twins now have another option in blowouts

I knew they were thinking out side the box on this move. This pick up replaced Castro and Bride, and keeps Clemens well rested.

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

The payroll limitations are what they are. But they are compounded by poor roster construction. When the bullpen is as bad as it is, you can't have that much money tied up in catcher.

Teams in the division are athletic. The Twins double down on being slow and having shaky defense with Bell and Ragaman.

I have no idea what this front office is doing. And neither do they.

[jkcarew]

Paying $14M for a backup catcher makes perfect sense when you’re pinching pennies and have much bigger wholes elsewhere on the roster…right?

It seems likely that they expect him to be the starting catcher sometime between now and the start of 2027. In the event that the 2027 season actually happens at some point. Yay!

[Fatbat]

Caratini raises the floor. He makes the team a little better and may allow the FO to move on several other margjnal guys. Building the team back to relevance has to start somewhere. 

[Parfigliano]

4 hours ago, Teflon said:

Caratini has also appeared as a pitcher in three different MLB seasons, The Twins now have another option in blowouts.

I think they are going to need it.

[AlLagoon]

I'd wager that if the Twins knew  Caratini would be available to them, they wouldn't have bothered with Jackson.

[TNtwins85]

11 hours ago, Fatbat said:

Caratini raises the floor. He makes the team a little better and may allow the FO to move on several other margjnal guys. Building the team back to relevance has to start somewhere. 

Exactly! As much as everyone wants it to happen you can’t just go sign 26 elite players to replace what you’ve got. Everyone thinks Falvey is stupid but he’s simply working with the cards he’s dealt. I don’t agree with what he does and I scratch my head but this signing makes sense. If you follow the breadcrumbs you can see the plan whether you like the plan or not.

[TNtwins85]

9 hours ago, AlLagoon said:

I'd wager that if the Twins knew  Caratini would be available to them, they wouldn't have bothered with Jackson.

Jackson was the floor they set. Caratini lingered and when they saw his market they jumped when they saw value. Now you’re set at catcher for 2 years bridging the gap to Tait. It makes perfect sense. He’s not Realmuto but he’s the next tier and you need a competent catcher. 

[TNtwins85]

13 hours ago, Twins_Fan_in_NJ said:

The payroll limitations are what they are. But they are compounded by poor roster construction. When the bullpen is as bad as it is, you can't have that much money tied up in catcher.

Teams in the division are athletic. The Twins double down on being slow and having shaky defense with Bell and Ragaman.

I have no idea what this front office is doing. And neither do they.

They simply bridged a gap and raised the floor while opening a path to potentially trade Jeffers if the right deal comes along. They gave themselves options. It’s pretty obvious and simple really whether one likes it or not. It does point the arrow towards a soft  “compete” aiming at a deadline sell off more than a strong “compete” this season. Sad but true I believe. 

[rv78]

Another Astros catcher signed for multiple seasons. Let's take a quick look at the last 3 seasons using Caratini's Batting Average, of which 1 was in Milwaukee. .259 .269 .259. Now taking a quick look at Christian Vazquez's Batting Average the 3 seasons BEFORE he came to Minnesota we have .258 .250 .283. Vasquez came to Minnesota when he turned 32 years old. Caratini comes to Minnesota when he turns 32 years old. Vasquez's 3 years in Minnesota he hit .223 .221 .189. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself. Otherwise we can blame Falvey for not learning his lesson the first time. What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

[rv78]

11 minutes ago, TNtwins85 said:

They simply bridged a gap and raised the floor while opening a path to potentially trade Jeffers if the right deal comes along. They gave themselves options. It’s pretty obvious and simple really whether one likes it or not. It does point the arrow towards a soft  “compete” aiming at a deadline sell off more than a strong “compete” this season. Sad but true I believe. 

You can call it a "soft compete". Some of us call it another "half measure", which is something Joe Pohlad said they weren't going to do. yet that is ALL they do. Someone needs to tell Joe, fool me once shame on me, fool me twice, thrice, four, five, six, one hundred, shame on you.

[TNtwins85]

3 minutes ago, rv78 said:

You can call it a "soft compete". Some of us call it another "half measure", which is something Joe Pohlad said they weren't going to do. yet that is ALL they do. Someone needs to tell Joe, fool me once shame on me, fool me twice, thrice, four, five, six, one hundred, shame on you.

I would agree. My term “soft compete” means just that. A calculated move? Yes. Absolutely raises the floor, bridges a gap to Tait and a few other catchers in the minors and opens a door to a Jeffers trade either this offseason if the right deal comes along but more likely at the deadline because the “soft compete” failed for the fact it was a half measure.