The Mariners and Mitch Garver have agreed to a two-year, $24MM contract, in accordance with ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via X). The deal will turn into official when Garver passes a bodily. Garver is represented by ISE Baseball.
Whereas Cal Raleigh remains to be Seattle’s prime backstop, Garver provides the Mariners a outstanding bat who can act as each a backup catcher and a daily presence at designated hitter. This was the function Garver full of aplomb for the Rangers final season, as he hit .270/.370/.500 with 19 homers over 344 plate appearances whereas largely performing as a DH to permit All-Star Jonah Heim common time behind the plate. Garver was then the unique first-choice DH for the Rangers’ postseason run, as he hit .226/.317/.434 with three homers over 60 PA to assist Texas seize its first World Collection title.
It wasn’t a completely good platform season for Garver, nonetheless, as he missed shut to 2 full months early within the season as a consequence of a left knee sprain. This continued a sample of accidents that has plagued Garver all through his profession, as he has performed in solely 232 of a potential 546 video games for the reason that begin of the 2020 season. These well being points (starting from forearm surgical procedure, an intercostal pressure, and knee, groin, and again issues) have contributed to Garver’s more and more restricted utilization at catcher, because the transfer to a DH function ought to assist him keep on the sector with a bit extra regularity.
This led to one thing of a difficult entry into free company for Garver, as whereas he was technically the highest catcher in the marketplace, it will’ve been dangerous for a crew to depend on him for something greater than a timeshare on the place. As MLBTR’s Nick Deeds suggested again in October, Garver’s best touchdown spot is perhaps “a crew with one other dependable catching choice, so Garver may have a transparent path to DH taking part in time and face much less stress to often swimsuit up behind the plate.”
The Mariners match the invoice completely, with Raleigh establishing himself because the No. 1 catcher and an enormous energy supply over the past two seasons. The switch-hitting Raleigh has a lot better numbers in opposition to right-handers than in opposition to left-handers, which dovetails properly with the right-handed hitting Garver’s potential to mash left-handed pitching.
Tom Murphy signed with the Giants final week, although the M’s seemingly ready for that departure by buying catcher Seby Zavala as a part of the Eugenio Suarez trade with the Diamondbacks. If Garver goes to primarily be a DH, the Mariners may nonetheless have room for Zavala on the roster to behave as extra of a conventional backup catcher. This might keep away from some roster maneuverings since Zavala is out of minor league choices, so the Mariners must designate him for project and expose him to the waiver wire in the event that they needed to ship him to the minor leagues.
Seattle was recognized to be searching for an influence bat for its DH spot, and a right-handed hitter particularly to assist steadiness out the lineup. Such names as Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez, and Rhys Hoskins have been reportedly on the Mariners’ radar, however Garver will now be part of the roster on a two-year pact. It’s rather less than the three-year, $39MM that MLBTR projected for Garver, although it’s nonetheless a pleasant payday for a participant groups may’ve seen as extra of a pure DH than as a daily backstop.
Including an enormous bat at any worth additionally helps change the narrative of what has been a distressing offseason for Mariners followers. The Mariners are set to assume whole possession of the ROOT Sports activities Northwest regional sports activities community on January 1, and the associated further prices have reportedly restricted the crew’s potential to spend on participant payroll. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto mentioned in early December that the Mariners’ payroll would rise from its estimated $140MM determine from 2023, but a lot of the membership’s strikes previous to the Garver signing have been designed to chop prices. Suarez’s commerce eliminated one massive wage from the books, and Seattle then removed much more cash in the five-player trade with the Braves that noticed Jarred Kelenic dealt primarily as a way of unloading the contracts of Marco Gonzales and Evan White.
As per Roster Resource, the Mariners’ projected 2024 payroll now sits at round $128.5MM with Garver’s wage added. With the $140MM quantity from 2023 in thoughts, this nonetheless provides the M’s some flexibility to pursue additional wants, like an outfielder or infield assist. Dipoto has downplayed the concept of buying and selling from the crew’s younger pitching depth, but that is perhaps a less expensive method of acquiring position-player assist than by signing one other free agent.
Signing Garver already represents a departure for Dipoto in a single sense, as he doesn’t usually make notable splashes in free company. Remarkably, Garver is barely the primary position-player free agent (and solely the fourth free agent whatsoever) Dipoto has signed to a multi-year contract throughout his eight years operating Seattle’s entrance workplace. This may indicate that Garver may very well be it for the Mariners this winter so far as comparatively notable free agent signings go, or maybe Dipoto will change ways and take a look at different free brokers as a way to additional bolster the lineup.
Picture courtesy of USA In the present day Sports activities Photos
