The Seattle Mariners have not been very busy this offseason, in fact the only other big move they’ve made was trading away the combination of Evan White, Marco Gonzales and Jarred Kelenic. On Christmas Eve, the Mariners completed their second-biggest deal of the season by signing veteran catcher Mitch Garver to a 2-year, $24-million deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the news.
The Mariners were in search of a veteran catcher after Tom Murphy signed with the San Francisco Giants. Garver fits that mold. The deal isn’t official yet as it is pending the physical. Mitch Garver gives the Mariners a prominent bat who can backup starting catcher Cal Raleigh when needed and fill in as a regular presence at DH if the Mariners can’t sign a full-time guy.
With the Rangers last season, Garver hit .270/.370/.500 with 11 doubles and 19 home runs. He saw a majority of playing time at DH with Jonah Heim getting consistent reps behind the dish. He had become the first-choice at DH for the Rangers in their post-season run that ended with a World Series Championship.
Since the start of the 2020 season, Garver has been plagued with injuries. Only playing in 232 of the 546 possible games.These health issues which have included a mixture contributed to Garver’s increasingly limited usage at catcher, as the move to a DH role should help him stay on the field with a bit more regularity.
He’ll fit in well with Seattle. As of now, he’ll slot in as the full-time DH. Though the Mariners have had their name thrown around when it comes to Jorge Soler and Rhys Hoskins. It’s likely that they could still sign or trade for a more prominent hitter. The Mariners also have Seby Zavala to backup Raleigh and they could still keep him on the roster if Garver gets used as a primary DH.
On Thursday afternoon, the Mariners announced the contract signing. The deal includes a mutual option for 2026.
“Mitch is a hitter we had targeted from the start of the offseason,” said Jerry Dipoto, President of Baseball Operations in the press release. “He’s a proven winner who brings a strong combination of zone discipline, on-base skills, and power to the middle of our lineup, while also adding tough to find depth at key positions.”
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