Victor

Caratini

Singleton should be considered day-to-day. Victor Caratini gets the start with Singleton unavailable.

Caratini had been out since July 20 with a hip flexor strain. He’ll resume backing up Yainer Díaz, though with Díaz performing well, he’ll likely play less than he did in the weeks before he got hurt.

Caratini kicked off a minor league rehab assignment earlier this week down in Florida and figures to be ready to return to Houston’s backup catcher role after the All-Star break. The 30-year-old backstop has been out since late June recovering from a left hip flexor strain.

The Astros might be more worried about Victor Caratini’s hip injury than they were originally. If Caratini can’t return after the break, Narváez could overtake César Salazar to become Yainer Diaz’s backup.

The move is retroactive to June 20th. The veteran backstop was hitting .248 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 105 at-bats this season. Cesar Salazar should fill in as the backup catcher.

With Yordan Alvarez back and Yainer Diaz likely sliding back to catcher from the DH spot he had been filling of late, the Astros will need their backup catcher less over the next few weeks. However, if Caratini does wind up on the IL, it will mean more opportunities for Cesar Salazar when Diaz needs a day off.

Caratini suffered the injury making a terrible slide while running the bases. It sounds like he was fortunate to have avoided any type of significant injury and should be considered day-to-day. Expect Yainer Diaz to get the call behind the dish for Thursday’s series finale against the White Sox though.

Diaz is available off the bench once again, if needed, but he’ll sit out his second straight contest as he continues to recover from a bruised right index finger. It’ll be Victor Caratini handing the catching duties with César Salazar up from the minors as emergency depth.

He nearly had a second; his 401-foot fly to right-center in the seventh would have been a homer in 20 ballparks, according to Statcast. We still like Yainer Díaz, but Caratini is certainly one of the game’s top-30 catchers and really should have landed a starting job as a free agent over the winter. He’ll probably continue to cut into Díaz’s playing time in at least the short-term, making Díaz expendable in one-catcher shallow leagues.

Caratini was called on to pinch hit for Mauricio Dubón in the 10th inning and laced a two-strike breaking ball back up the middle for a hit to drive in Trey Cabbage from third. It was the second walk-off hit for Caratini on the season, as the veteran catcher has come up clutch for the Astros on a handful of occasions early on. Despite the clutch hit, Caratini is hitting .158 on the month and .259 on the season. He shouldn’t be counted on in fantasy at this time.