Astros announce catcher. Christian Vasquez Signed a minor league contract. The deal includes an invitation for Vazquez (an MDR Sports Management client) to attend big league spring training camp in Houston. Vazquez is expected to head to Astros camp after the World Baseball Classic, as the veteran backstop is playing for the Puerto Rican team.
This is Vazquez’s second appearance in a Houston uniform after being acquired as a trade deadline pickup for the 2022 season. Vazquez hit .250/.278/.308 in 108 plate appearances for the remainder of the regular season, then .235/.316/.235 in 19 plate appearances in postseason PA, but ultimately won the title as a member of the World Series title team. Vazquez was also a particularly memorable part of baseball history when he threw a no-hitter in Game 4 of the Astros’ World Series. It was the second no-hitter in series history and the third no-hitter in postseason history.
Despite his poor performance at the end of the 2022 campaign, Vazquez landed a three-year, $30 million free agent contract from Minnesota following the season. Unfortunately for Vazquez and the Twins, the struggles at the plate continued. He hit .215/.267/.311 over 884 PA in three seasons with the team. Vazquez was signed more with defense in mind, but only delivered a 60 wRC+, ultimately putting him in a backup role behind the scenes. Ryan Jeffers.
Vazquez’s combination of poor numbers and high salary has made him difficult to trade, but his name has popped up in a few rumors over the past few years. Minnesota traded away numerous veterans and impending free agents at last year’s deadline, but Vazquez stayed on, completing his full three-year tenure with the team. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there hasn’t been much buzz about his free-agent market, other than one report linking Vazquez to the Astros in January.
It took more than a month for the two sides to reach an agreement, but Vazquez did indeed sign with Houston, and now he will compete for them. Cesar Salazar For backup catching duties behind the starter Jayner Diaz. Salazar’s resume includes all 36 MLB appearances in three seasons with the Astros, with no minor league options. Carlos Perez In camp for another minor contract, Perez hasn’t played in the show since 2023, although he’s played parts of five seasons in the big leagues.
So the opportunity exists for Vazquez to break camp with the Astros as Diaz’s understudy. The 35-year-old may not be very productive with the bat, but Vazquez remains a strong defender, posting a +5 Defensive Run Saved in 519 innings at catcher in 2025. Statcast wasn’t very kind to Vazquez, giving him a zero in the overall catching runs metric, but his blocking and throwing (Vazquez threw 14 of his 56 stolen base attempts in 2025) were rated above average.
Vazquez’s WBC duties will give him relatively little time to make an impression in Spring Training, but the Astros are somewhat familiar with what Vazquez brings to the table. The fact that the Astros signed this deal means they’re not entirely happy with their current backup catcher situation, and there’s no risk in signing Vazquez to a minor league deal just for the club to get a look at him in camp.
