By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners bring Mitch Gaver back to boost catching depth

The Mariners have re-signed Mitch Garver to a minor league deal despite two seasons in Seattle which were disappointing overall.

In a move which might initially seem surprising to some, the Seattle Mariners have reportedly reunited with Mitch Garver. He has been signed to a minor league deal and as per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, will be paid at a $2.25 million rate if he makes the club’s 26-man Major League roster at any point this coming season.

This contract is light years away from the two-year, $24 million deal Garver signed with the Mariners back in Dec. 2023, which at the time was the biggest free agent deal for a position player in the Jerry Dipoto era. Now, the 35-year-old is just hoping to make the M’s as a backup roster or at least do enough to impress other teams .

In theory it’s going to be a tough road for Garver to make the team, with catching rivals Andrew Knizner and Jhonny Pereda already on the Mariners’ 40-man roster. However, the Albuquerque, New Mexico native’s familiarity with the M’s pitching staff could prove invaluable.

Mariners have nothing to lose bringing Mitch Garver back

No one disputes Garver’s two seasons in Seattle were extremely disappointing, especially in 2024 when the Mariners had him tabbed as their main DH. He was coming off a season where he produced a .870 OPS and 138 OPS+ in 87 games and helped the Texas Rangers win their first World Series.

However, things did not pan out as planned for either the M’s or Garver, as he ended up being the backup catcher for Cal Raleigh. That 2024 season would end up being a nightmare for the right-handed bat, with his .172 batting average and .627 OPS both being the second-worst of his nine years in the majors.

The 2025 season ended up being marginally better for Garver — not that it was going to take much to improve — as he batted .209 with a .639 OPS. He even had his moments, including two hits and a RBI in seven at-bats during the Mariners’ postseason run.

Aside from his experience with the Mariners pitching staff and in previously winning the World Series, where Garver can really prove his worth is against left-handed pitching. While still not outstanding per se, he batted .218 with a .763 OPS during his first year in Seattle, followed by .233 with a .718 OPS in 2025.

Mitch Garver in a good position with his new deal

As much as Garver figures to have a fight to make the Mariners team, he’s in the position of being able to opt out of his deal at the end of camp if he doesn’t have a spot on the 26-man roster. He has at least six years of service time and finished last season on a Major League roster so, as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he has opt-out dates five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

If nothing else, at least Garver will have plenty of opportunities to make his case during spring training in Peoria, with Raleigh taking part in the World Baseball Classic with Team USA. And as much as we’re going back quite a while, this is still the same player who won a Silver Slugger Award back in 2019.

Garver’s first tenure with the Mariners did not end ideally, as the team declined to pick up his $12 million mutual option for the 2026 season and instead paid him a $1 million buyout. Now though, the two sides have been reunited with everything to gain and effectively nothing to lose.

For his Major League career as a whole, Garver has a .233/.326/.440 slash line, .766 OPS and 112 OPS+ with 106 home runs and 309 RBI in 651 games. He was selected in the ninth round of the 2013 draft by the Minnesota Twins and played parts of five seasons with them, before being traded to the Rangers ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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