Astros and Carlos Corporan agree to $975,000 contract, avoid arbitration

Astros catchers, new and old, are taking over the news cycle in Astroland. Backup catcher Carlos Corporan and the Astros have reach a contract agreement before arbitration. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported:

Carlos corporan settles with astros for 975K

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 15, 2015

Corporan originally signed with the Astros in 2010, and has held down the back up catcher position for the past two seasons. In 2014, Corporan batted .235 with six homers and 19 RBI in 55 games.

Corporan's days with the Astros maybe numbered. Two of the Astros' biggest moves this offseason were to bring in a dedicated catcher (Hank Conger) and a player that can play catcher when called upon (Evan Gattis). Houston relinquished four top prospects (right-hander Nick Tropeano, right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, third baseman Rio Ruiz, and right-hander Andrew Thurman) for Conger and Gattis. The Astros have invested too much to not go full steam ahead with Conger as the backup, and have the luxury to slot Gattis as a third catcher in the depth chart - assuming Jason Castro is the starter and Max Stassi starts in Triple-A.

Today, Houston Chronicle writer Evan Drellich reported the Astros were working on a deal involving Corporan and the Rangers.