{"id":77917,"date":"2024-06-26T15:34:45","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T19:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=77917"},"modified":"2024-06-26T15:34:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T19:34:45","slug":"houston-astros-sign-narvaez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/26\/houston-astros-sign-narvaez\/","title":{"rendered":"Former All-Star Signs With The Houston Astros"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston, the Houston Astros signed catcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/narvaom01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Omar Narv\u00e1ez<\/a> to a minor league deal on Wednesday. Houston recently placed backup catcher\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/caratvi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-24_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Caratini<\/a> on the injured list and expects him to miss around three or four weeks.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SOURCE: The <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Astros?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Astros<\/a> have agreed to a minor-league deal with Catcher Omar Narvaez.<\/p>\n<p>Narvaez had a .376 OPS in 28 games with the Mets in 2024, and was released June 5th.<\/p>\n<p>He was an All-Star with Milwaukee in 2021. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eW2zlRJlgV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/eW2zlRJlgV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AriA1exander\/status\/1806022253093470516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Though the Astros have a quality starting catcher playing well, the team signed Caratini this winter because they wanted a quality backup. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/diazya02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-24_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yainer Diaz<\/a> will continue to carry the catching load, but the Astros signed Narv\u00e1ez as backup protection with Caratini out.<\/p>\n<h2>Houston Astros Sign Omar Narv\u00e1ez To A Minor League Deal<\/h2>\n<p>Narv\u00e1ez entered this season with the New York Mets as the veteran backup behind promising youngster <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alvarfr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Francisco Alvarez<\/a>. Despite struggling with injuries and performance in 2023, many naturally expected Narv\u00e1ez to receive most of the playing time when Alvarez <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/20\/mets-star-catcher-il\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">underwent surgery<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n<p>However, Narv\u00e1ez continued to struggle with both his bat and his glove, leading to <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nidoto01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tom\u00e1s Nido<\/a> quickly earning the top job. In 28 games this season, Narv\u00e1ez hit just .154\/.191\/.185 with -7 Defensive Runs Saved. The Mets eventually decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/31\/new-york-mets-option-christian-scott-brett-baty\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">designate Narv\u00e1ez for assignment<\/a> before Alvarez even returned from the injured list.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Omar Narvaez has now allowed 30 stolen bases this season. He doesn&#39;t seem to have an answer for his struggles with the running game this season. <\/p>\n<p>&quot;Just trying to get rid of the ball as fast as I can.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Abbey Mastracco (@AbbeyMastracco) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AbbeyMastracco\/status\/1787241181719450072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 5, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Despite his struggles, catching represents a crucial position in baseball that lacks solid league-wide depth. The Astros, perhaps more than any other team, know the importance of having solid catchers. While Narv\u00e1ez has struggled recently, he is a former All-Star that potentially can be revived in a new organization.<\/p>\n<h3>Astros Game Plan at Catcher<\/h3>\n<p>As long as Diaz stays healthy, he will remain the starting catcher for Houston. However, if he goes down while Caratini is out, Narv\u00e1ez will at least represent insurance for a team looking to make the playoffs. The Astros called up\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/salazce01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-06-24_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cesar Salazar<\/a> from Triple-A Sugar Land to back up Diaz in Caratini&#8217;s absence. However, he is 28 with just 16 career games at the big-league level.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear how comfortable Houston feels with Salazar and his lack of experience or pedigree on the roster, even in a backup role. However, the Astros signing Narv\u00e1ez indicates some clear concern. The 32-year-old will likely spend a week or so in Triple-A getting back into baseball shape after not having a job for a few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>At that point, the Astros will likely evaluate his performance in Triple-A and Salazar&#8217;s in the majors. If Salazar struggles, Narv\u00e1ez could be recalled providing a veteran presence in the backup role before Caratini returns.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credits: <em>Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston, the Houston Astros signed catcher Omar Narv\u00e1ez to a minor league deal on Wednesday. Houston recently placed backup catcher\u00a0Victor Caratini on the injured list and expects him to miss around three or four weeks. SOURCE: The #Astros have agreed to a minor-league deal with Catcher Omar Narvaez. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4683,"featured_media":77938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1071,35],"tags":[3236,1479],"class_list":["post-77917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-mlb","category-news","tag-omar-narvaez","tag-victor-caratini"],"modified_by":"Evan Mazza, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}