Victor Caratini is More Than a Personal Catcher

When the Padres struck a deal with the Cubs back in December, Yu Darvish took the spotlight in the dominant pitcher going out to San Diego. At the time being, it felt that Caratini was more of a throw in due to him being Darvish's personal catcher in Chicago. But Caratini has brought so much more to the Padres with his presence and his bat.

Victor Caratini spent his first four years backing up Willson Contreras for the Cubs. After working with Darvish since 2018, Caratini has earned the respect and trust from other pitchers in San Diego, especially with starting catcher Austin Nola going down to injuries as of late.

Caratini has started the majority of games for the Padres with Nola being injured and Campusano being a raw rookie with not much to prove just yet. When not starting, Caratini has come in as a crucial brick wall catcher late into games to secure any wild pitches from being thrown. Caratini so far has posted a 99.8 fielding percentage, (2nd best in NL) has helped out tremendously with having pitchers throw lower in the zones and of course, has helped give the Padres their first no-hitter in franchise history, his second no-hitter he caught within back-to-back years.

With his bat, I call him Clutch Caratini. What better way to have full capacity for the first time and deliver a walk off? "It's just great to be back. That's what you grow up thinking of: You're in the big leagues, and you have stadiums full of fans. It was really, really great." Caratini stated after the game.

In the end, Caratini has worked almost the most starts of his career and has gained more than just a liking from Darvish. He has brought more than we thought here in the brown and gold and you could say that he has saved out situation behind the plate for the time being.