Houston Astros Officially Activate Important Player off Injured List

More pieces continue to return for the Houston Astros as they start looking like real World Series contenders this year.

Apr 30, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros catcher Victor Caratini (17) is congratulated by Houston Astros manager Joe Espada (19) after hitting a walkoff home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the tenth inning at Minute Maid Park / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Early in the season, the Houston Astros were struggling so much that many analysts out there were predicting they would have to become sellers ahead of the trade deadline.

General manager Dana Brown fired back against those thoughts constantly and consistently despite them sitting under .500 even a few weeks ago.

Now, the Astros sit on top of the AL West standings and will likely be buyers as they look to bolster this roster during this "all in" year.

Houston should also naturally improve during the second half of the season with some of their star players expected to return from the injured list. Once Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker are back in the mix, that will provide this group even more weapons as they chase another division crown.

Before that, though, they finally have their offseason catcher signing healthy after they activated Victor Caratini off the IL according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The veteran has been sidelined since June 21 with a hip flexor strain. They optioned Cesar Salazar to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The 30-year-old was brought in to be Yainer Diaz's backup. He performed well in his limited role, slashing .248/.287/.429 with four homers, 10 extra-base hits, and 17 RBI across his 39 games and 105 at-bats.

Getting him back in the mix will allow the Astros to give Diaz some more time at designated hitter during the second half of the season, while still having solid defense behind the plate with Caratini there.

They could also give Diaz more time at first base since they are looking for right-handed batters that caused them to call up one of their past World Series champions.

Regardless, getting Caratini back gives Houston another viable option to use as they get closer to fielding the team they expected to have before the year started.