Christian

Vázquez

It’s a bit unclear whether Diaz will require a trip to the injured list, but the fact that the Astros have brought up César Salazar from the minors seems to indicate that he’s not going to be available off the bench, even in an emergency. There should be an update on his status following the contest. It’ll be Christian Vázquez handling the catching duties in his absence.

It’s a routine day off for a catcher with a day game after a night game, but since Yordan Alvarez is entrenched at the designated hitter, there is nowhere else for Diaz to play. That’s an ongoing battle that he will face all season. Christian Vázquez will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Vázquez officially makes Houston’s season-opening roster as a backup to starting catcher Yainer Diaz. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

This opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Christian Vázquez, who made the team as a backup catcher.

Vázquez will serve as the primary caddy to starter Yainer Diaz after making the club as a non-roster invitee this spring. The trickle-down effect here is that César Salazar will be designated for assignment and exposed to waivers since he is out of minor-league options.

Vázquez languished on the open market all offseason before finally latches on with the Astros with just a few weeks leading up to Opening Day. The 35-year-old veteran is merely a part-time defensive specialist at this stage of his career and will be returning to Houston where he spent the final two months of the 2022 campaign after being dealt by the Red Sox. He’s a solid emergency option behind backup catcher César Salazar in case anything happened to starter Yainer Diaz.

With Victor Caratini leaving via free agency, the Astros are in the market for a backup to work behind Yainer Diaz. Vazquez, previously functioned in that role for the Astros in the second half of the 2022 season. He had a rough year at the dish with the Twins in 2025, slashing a woeful .189/.271/.274 with three homers and 14 RBI in 214 plate appearances.

Vazquez took Aaron Nola deep for the Twins’ only run of the game. The veteran has gotten the shorter end of the playing time in a committee with Ryan Jeffers. He now has three home runs and 14 RBI to go along with a .194/.276/.280 slash line.

It’s just a standard day off for Jeffers with a day game after a night game. Christian Vazquez will catch and bat ninth, while Trevor Larnach will be moved to designated hitter so that Carson McCusker can get a start in right field and bat seventh.

Vázquez has been on the injured list since August 8 with a shoulder infection. He’ll come back to his part-time role behind the plate and remains off the fantasy radar.