The Houston Astros have officially reactivated a key player from the injured list.

Coming into the season, the Houston Astros were in such trouble that many analysts predicted they would have to become sellers before the trade deadline.

General manager Dana Brown has consistently and consistently countered those thoughts, even though they were below .500 just a few weeks ago.

Now, the Astros lead the AL West standings and will likely be buyers as they look to bolster that roster in this “all-in” year.

Houston should also naturally improve in the second half of the season, with some of its star players expected to return from injured reserve. Once Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker are back in the mix, it will give this group even more weapons in their quest for another division title.

But before that, they finally managed to sign their offseason wide receiver healthy after activating Victor Caratini off the injured list, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The veteran has been sidelined since June 21 with a hip flexor strain. Cesar Salazar was moved to Triple-A in a corresponding trade.

The 30-year-old was brought in to be Yainer Diaz’s backup. He has played well in his limited role, hitting .248/.287/.429 with four homers, 10 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs in 39 games and 105 at-bats.

Bringing him back into the mix will allow the Astros to give Diaz some more time as a designated hitter in the second half of the season, while still having solid defense behind the plate with Caratini there.

They could also give Diaz more time at first base as they seek right-handed hitters, which led them to call up one of their former World Series champions.

Regardless, Caratini’s return gives Houston another viable option to utilize as they move closer to putting together the team they expected to have before the start of the year.