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Astros 'Definitely Have Interest' in Keeping Key Player With Team

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI | By Brad Wakai | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 2:35 PM ET

The Houston Astros are entering their offseason after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. While there was some thought that this could be their new reality following what happened this past winter, it took a major collapse for that to come to fruition.

Because of that, all things are on the table when it comes to how they are going to get back to dominating the American League like they had been for much of the past decade, with the jobs of general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada under scrutiny.

When it comes to Brown, he's confident he'll be kept in his position. While owner Jim Crane has made some rash decisions in the past, ushering in another regime change when the franchise is in this current state wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. So Brown is operating under the impression that he'll be running the front office this offseason.

With that in mind, it's notable to hear what Brown had to say about one of the Astros' key players who is set to become a free agent this winter.

Astros Interested in Bringing Back Victor Caratini

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Victor Caratini signed a two-year, $12 million deal in December of 2023. That was one of the first moves Brown made in his tenure as general manager of Houston since he was hired in January of 2023 and didn't have a ton to do with a limited offseason.

Bringing in Caratini has proven to be an excellent decision, as the veteran backup has had the best stretch of his career with a .263/.329/.406 slash line and OPS+ that was five point above the league average.

At the age of 32, he's set to hit the open market where he could draw interest from plenty of teams around the league. But Brown stated the Astros have interest in bringing him back to keep him with the team in his same role.

"If you don't bring him back, you definitely need a backup catcher, and he's been I think one of the best backup catchers in the league," he said, per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). "So we would like to bring him back … He's going to be a free agent, so if he decides to go somewhere else we have to be in the market for a backup. But we would definitely have interest in talking to him."

Whether or not Caratini wants to return to that role will be seen, though. While he was the first pinch-hitting option for Espada, the veteran also only started 103 games at catcher and could be searching for a more regular role in his primary position.

This will be something to keep an eye on this offseason, but the Astros are making it known they would like Caratini back in 2026.