Mariners make the right call with Mitch Garver as backup catcher

We look at four reasons why Mitch Garver has reportedly beaten out Andrew Knizner as the Seattle Mariners’ backup catcher to Cal Raleigh.

There was plenty of surprise last month when the Mariners brought back Mitch Garver, on a minor league contract which included an invite to Major League training camp. Well, there was another surprise on Sunday, with the reported news that he has beaten out Andrew Knizner for the backup catcher position on the 26-man roster.

As a result of this decision, Knizner has now gone from being the projected main backup catcher to potentially leaving the organization without playing a single Major League game for the Mariners. Due to having more than five years of service time, he can conceivably reject an outright to Triple-A Tacoma if he clears waivers.

This all leads to the question of how we came to this point, but upon further analysis Garver beating out Knizner for the backup catcher role actually makes a lot of sense. We take a look at four reasons why the Mariners have made the right call with Garver:

1. Familiarity and rapport with George Kirby

At the time of the Mariners bringing back Garver, we noted that his familiarity with the pitching staff could prove invaluable, particularly in the case of George Kirby. The duo developed a strong rapport during the two previous seasons in Seattle, with Garver catching 17 of the righty’s starts in that time.

Apart from their relationship, the results bare out as well, particularly in 2024 when Kirby had a 2.53 ERA with Garver as opposed to 3.46 with Cal Raleigh. Admittedly Kirby had a lower ERA with Raleigh last season, but this was countered by a 4.00 strikeouts-to-walks ratio, compared to a dramatically better 11.00 ratio with Garver.

This is an important season for Kirby, coming off a career-worst year in 2025 and going from being considered a potential staff ace to a possible trade candidate. He figures to have a bounce-back campaign now that his injury issues are out of the way, with this likelihood only further enhanced by the presence of Garver behind the plate.

2. Small financial loss for the Mariners

One of the main reasons Knizner figured to be in line for the backup catcher role was because he was on a guaranteed Major League contract as opposed to Garver’s minor league deal. However, in the grand scheme of things it isn’t that much of a financial loss for the Mariners.

Knizner is still going to get his $1 million due to it being fully guaranteed, but keep in mind this isn’t much more than the guaranteed league minimum of $780k. As for Garver, he will now be paid $2.25 million once he makes his first appearance this coming season in the majors.

For some more team-friendly context, consider that Garver previously signed a two-year, $24 million deal for the 2024 and 2025 season, which at the time was the biggest free agent deal for a position player in the Jerry Dipoto era. As such, the worst-case scenario of a combined $3.25 million in 2026 for the two catchers is still considerably better for the Mariners from a financial perspective.

3. Mitch Garver is just better offensively

No one will argue that Garver struggled significantly at the plate these past two seasons in Seattle, with his .187 batting average, .632 OPS and 85 OPS+ all representing the lowest of the three Major League teams he has played for. And yet, even at his worst he still represents a better offensive threat that Knizner.

In seven Major League seasons Knizner has a career .211 batting average, but his .596 OPS and 67 OPS+ are both poorer than what Garver produced with the Mariners in 2024 and 2025 combined. While Garver’s best days might be behind him, he still has a higher offensive ceiling than Knizner. (Especially against lefties, with a career .832 OPS.)

Critics of Garver will point out he only has a .208 batting average with a .685 OPS in spring training, but this is still a heck of a lot better than Knizner, who hit .172 with a .433 OPS. And as if to put an exclamation mark on landing the backup catcher role, the 35-year-old Garver hit a solo blast and added a sacrifice fly RBI in Sunday’s Cactus League 4-2 win versus the Chicago White Sox.

4. Cal Raleigh wanted him back

Raleigh is the heart and soul of the Mariners, involved in every level of building a winning mentality throughout the organization and the undoubted leader in the clubhouse in both actions and words. As such, the fact he reached out to Garver in mid-February and encouraged the 2019 Silver Slugger to contact the M’s front office, speaks volumes.

Clearly Raleigh respects and trusts Garver, an important part of the culture Dipoto and Justin Hollander have built in the clubhouse. Speaking about his relationship with Raleigh, as per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Garver said:

“It means a lot that he would want me to come back and be there for him whenever he needs to take a breather. So, I’m happy to do it. Happy to just put on the gear and catch guys when they need me the most, and (I) couldn’t be happier to be where we’re at.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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