*Photo from MLB.com*
At least one holiday signing came through. Catcher Mitch Garver and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a two year, $24 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Seattle has confirmed the move.
The Mariners have undergone a lot of roster turnover this offseason as they look to change their approach at the plate. Garver has switched to more of a DH role as of late as he's battled injuries from catching and graded poorly defensively in the little time that he did spend behind the plate for the Texas Rangers in 2023.
Last season was Garver's second with the Rangers after being traded in 2022 from the Minnesota Twins. He posted a .270/.370/.500 slash line with a 134 OPS+, blasting 19 home runs with 11 doubles and 50 RBI's in 87 games. He had 3 home runs and 14 RBI's in 14 playoff games.
Not long after opening day, Garver sat out for almost two months due to a left knee sprain after he missed all but 54 games in 2022 after undergoing season ending flexor tendon surgery. The injury risk is apparent with Garver, who has only played more than 100 games in a season just once, back in 2018.
Garver has played 7 seasons in the majors, 5 coming with the Twins and the previous two with the Rangers. He has a .252/.342/.483 slash line with a 123 OPS+ to his name, hitting 82 home runs and 70 doubles with 228 RBI's in 450 games. He also has a .212 average with 3 home runs and 15 RBI's over 18 playoff games.
Despite only playing 93 games in 2019, that year proved to be his best with the bat as he had a .995 OPS with 31 home runs and 16 doubles on his way to winning a Silver Slugger in the offseason. While his strikeout rate is high, his chase rate and walk rate have drawn good marks in his career.
The Mariners have Cal Raleigh and newcomer Seby Zavala behind the plate, with Garver the 3rd catcher. He joins Zavala as new additions while the Mariners also traded Eugenio Suarez in the offseason.
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