Victor Caratini obviously wishes he can stay in the Majors, but he’s going to be sent back to the minors after the Chicago Cubs traded for Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila. However, you can’t make a better lasting impression than he did on Sunday, when he hit a go-ahead home run, in a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Caratini was a late addition to the lineup, as he filled in for Anthony Rizzo, who had the day off because of a stiff back. The 23-year-old rookie has been on the bench, backing up Willson Contreras, but ever since Miguel Montero was DFA’d the Cubs had been searching for a veteran catcher. It sucks for Caratini that he won’t stick around with the Cubs, but before the trade he got a once-in-a-lifetime moment, hitting his first career MLB home run.
BREAKING out the lumber.
Congrats to @VictorCaratini on his first big league homer! pic.twitter.com/hEfWHoPuxl
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 30, 2017
Hopefully Cubs fans see more of Caratini, as Avila will be a free agent after this season. Contreras is already one of the best catchers in the league, but it would be pretty cool to have him paired up with Caratini starting in 2018. Gotta keep Willy fresh for every postseason run the Cubs will be in for the next several years.
