Mariners sign Andrew Knizner to 1-year deal for 2026 season

The Seattle Mariners find their backup catcher for next season, but does Andrew Knizner represent a positive change from Mitch Garver?

The Mariners have apparently found their backup catcher for the 2026 season after announcing the signing of Andrew Knizner to a one-year deal. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the deal is worth $1 million and brings the M’s 40-man roster to 39 players.

The Mariners were always going to need help at the catcher position, due to the combination of trading Harry Ford to the Washington Nationals and Mitch Garver’s struggles during his two years in Seattle. However, it’s fair to question if Knizner represents a reasonable solution.

Knizner is coming off a season where he batted .221 with a .598 OPS and 73 OPS+ in 88 plate appearances spread over 33 games for the San Francisco Giants. Overall in seven Major League seasons, he has played in 323 games and hit .211 with a .598 OPS and 67 OPS+ during 975 plate appearances.

In comparison, Garver only batted .187 during his two seasons with the Mariners, but with a better OPS and OPS+ (although still not good) of .632 and 85 respectively. The signing of Knizner also further reinforces the opinion of those who believe the M’s should have kept hold of Ford, who was an excellent prospect with intriguing potential.

Is Andrew Knizner the right solution for the M’s?

Also not helping the situation are concerns about Knizner’s defensive abilities behind the plate. As per Baseball Savant, last season he ranked in the 22nd percentile for Blocks Above Avg and 10th percentile for Pop Time.

The 30-year-old Knizner was originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2016 Major League Draft out of North Carolina State University. Aside from the Cardinals and Giants, he also spent the 2024 season with the Mariners’ AL West rivals, the Texas Rangers.

There is hope for the Mariners long-term at the catcher position behind Cal Raleigh, after selecting Luke Stevenson in the Competitive Balance Round A 35th overall of this year’s Major League draft. Some scouts actually rate him more highly than Ford and MLB Pipeline have him ranked ninth among the M’s top 30 prospects.

In the meantime however, the Mariners really need to be in as strong a position as possible at catcher, even allowing for how durable Raleigh is. As such, any concern surrounding Knizner’s abilities are entirely reasonable, although the understanding is that the Mariners will continue to look at more backup depth at catcher between now and spring training in February.

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Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography & Mariners media

What’s your take on the signing of Knizner? Is he what the Mariners need after Garver’s struggles in Seattle, or should they have been more patient/aggressive in looking elsewhere for their man backup catcher behind Raleigh? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.