Victor

Caratini

It’s a rare off-day for the versatile 30-year-old who has become a fixture in the middle of the Twins’ lineup this season. Royce Lewis will slide over and cover second base in his place on Friday night while Victor Caratini starts at first base and will bat sixth for the Twins.

Caratini was forced to depart in the middle of a fifth-inning at-bat after fouling a ball off his right knee. It sounds like initial X-rays came back negative for any fractures, which is a positive sign. He’s day-to-day for now.

Caratini gave the Twins a 2-0 lead with a solo homer in the second inning. He’s homered five times in 2026 with an underwhelming OPS of .678 to go with them. Caratini provides considerably more value to the Twins than he does to fantasy managers.

Caratini gave the Twins a 2-1 lead in the fourth with a two-run homer off Michael McGreevy, and that would be the only runs the Twins would procure against McGreevy. They did get three against the St. Louis bullpen in the comeback victory. Caratini has four homers in 2026 to go along with an uninspiring slash of .215/.311/.319.

The Twins really need Caratini to step it up with Ryan Jeffers out for at least a month. He’s hitting .198/.304/.261 in 135 plate appearances, which is a far cry from his .263/.329/.406 line in his two years with Houston.

Jackson was hitting .239/.295/.511 in 95 plate appearances at Triple-A with seven home runs and 15 RBI. He will likely back up Victor Caratini, who now becomes a must-roster catcher in two-catcher leagues.

Caratini will likely see time behind the plate, at first base and as the designated hitter. There is some offensive upside in his bat and performed well in 2025 with the Astros, but this is more of a high-floor than a high-ceiling fantasy player.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand says it’s a $14 million deal. It’s not surprising that Caratini is quickly following J.T. Realmuto off the board, but this is an unexpected fit, given the Twins’ budget issues and their already having a starting catcher in Ryan Jeffers. Caratini deserves to be a starter, but he could help just about anyone starting 70 games behind the plate and another 20 or 30 at DH and first base. That’s probably what he’ll do in Minnesota, unless the team now pivots to trading Jeffers. The Astros had interest in bringing Caratini back, and it was also thought that the Red Sox might jump in, given that they had interest in Realmuto.

Caratini should have been in greater demand when he signed a two-year, $12 million deal to become Yainer Diaz’s backup in 2024, and he probably will be this time around. Getting extra playing time with Yordan Alvarez often injured, Caratini, 32, appeared in 114 games this season and hit .259/.325/.404 in a career-high 386 plate appearances. He deserves to be a starter for the next couple of years.

The Astros are giving their 34-year-old first baseman a breather though he’ll undoubtedly be used off the bench in a key spot at some point during Saturday’s battle against the M’s. Instead the Astros will load their lineup with left-handed bats with Victor Caratini starting at first base and batting fifth against Mariners’ right-hander George Kirby.