Caratini was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Caratini posted a solid season for Double-A Tennessee in 2016, slashing .291/.375/.405 with six homers. The Cubs are set at catcher, however, so the 23-year-old was expected to head back to the minors for 2017. Although he likely won't see major league action anytime soon with Willson Contreras ahead of him, he apparently impressed the Cubs enough to earn their protection from the Rule 5 draft, so we'll see what he has to offer at Triple-A this season.