Mitch Garver Adds Thump To The Seattle Mariners Lineup

The Seattle Mariners made the first major addition of their lineup makeover on Christmas Eve. Free-agent catcher/designated hitter Mitch Garver will join the team on a two-year, $24 million deal as announced by Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Garver had a phenomenal season at the plate for the Texas Rangers in 2023. He hit .270/.370/.500 with 19 home runs and 44 walks in 344 plate appearances. In his seven-year career, he has an .825 OPS, which is 23% better than league-average according to his 123 OPS+. He went 12-53 with six walks and three home runs in Texas’ playoff run last year, culminating in a World Series championship.

Garver was the best available catcher in free agency this year as described earlier this week at Forbes SportsMoney, and it’s unlikely any other backstop will top his $24 million guarantee this offseason. In fact, few catchers in all of baseball can match his prodigious power. The only catcher with a higher slugging percentage than him in MLB last season was the Houston Astros rookie Yainer Diaz (.538).

However, there are concerns about his durability. He has suffered a myriad of injuries throughout his career, never amassing more than 359 plate appearances in any season. He was on the IL last year from April 8 through June 2 and mostly served as the designated hitter in the second half of the season. He didn’t catch at all after September 2 including the entire postseason.

This is why he makes sense for the Mariners, who will not use him as their primary catcher. That job belongs to Cal Raleigh, who blasted 30 home runs last year. His 57 long balls over the last two years leads all players at the position—though he hit nine of them as a pinch hitter or DH.

With Raleigh entrenched at catcher, Garver’s main role will be the team’s DH. He will still probably fill in as a backup or part-time catcher, but reducing wear-and-tear from the rigors of his defensive position should keep his bat in the lineup more often. The Mariners’ previous backup catcher was Tom Murphy, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.

He certainly produces enough at the plate for the DH job. Last year’s main DH was Mike Ford, who is a free agent, as is right fielder Teoscar Hernández. The Mariners have also traded away left fielder Jarred Kelenic and third baseman Eugenio Suárez. Their 2024 lineup was destined to look a lot different, but the Garver signing was the first major acquisition after all of the subtractions.

The deal marks a departure from the Mariners’ modus operandi. In Jerry Dipoto’s eight years as general manager, this is the first time he has even given a multiyear contract to a free-agent position player. Market conditions and the state of the lineup appear to have forced his hand. This is an extremely thin crop of free agents, especially for position players and the team doesn’t have enough high-quality internal options in the minors to round out the lineup.

The Mariners are typically among the league’s most active traders, so they could always deal some of their young pitching to supplement their offense. That’s still a possibility even after signing Garver, but a two-year deal for one of the best DH options available is the cost of doing business—especially when he can also fill in at catcher.