Mariners Sign Mitch Garver Mariners Sign Mitch Garver

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The Mariners announced the signing of  to a two-year contract on Thursday afternoon. The deal, which also includes a mutual option for 2026, reportedly guarantees the ISE Baseball client $24MM. Seattles 40-man roster count sits at 37.  While  is still Seattles top backstop, Garver gives the Mariners a prominent bat who can act as both a backup catcher and a regular presence at designated hitter. This was the role Garver filled with aplomb for the Rangers last season, as he hit .270/.370/.500 with 19 homers over 344 plate appearances while mostly acting as a DH to allow All-Star  regular time behind the plate. Garver was then the exclusive first-choice DH for the Rangers postseason run, as he hit .226/.317/.434 with three homers over 60 PA to help Texas capture its first World Series title.  It wasnt an entirely perfect platform season for Garver, however, as he mi sed close to two full months early in the season due to a left knee sprain. This continued a pattern of injuries that has plagued Garver throughout his career, as he has played in only 232 of a po sible 546 games since the start of the 2020 season. These health i sues (ranging from forearm surgery, an intercostal strain, and knee, groin, and back problems) have contributed to Garvers increasingly limited usage at catcher, as the move to a DH role should help him stay on the field with a bit more regularity.  This led to something of a tricky entry into free agency for Garver, as while he was technically the top catcher on the market, it wouldve been risky for a team to rely on him for anything more than a timeshare at the position. As MLBTRs Nick Deeds back in October, Garvers ideal landing spot might be a team with another reliable catching option, so Garver could have a clear path to DH playing time and face le s pre sure to regularly suit up behind the plate.  The Mariners fit the bill perfectly, with Raleigh establishing himself as the No. 1 catcher and a big power source over the last two seasons. The switch-hitting Raleigh has much better numbers against right-handers than against left-handers, which dovetails nicely with the right-handed hitting Garvers ability to mash left-handed pitching.  signed with the Giants last week, though the Ms seemingly prepared for that departure by acquiring catcher  as part of the  with the Diamondbacks. If Garver is going to primarily be a DH, the Mariners might Ryan Tepera Jersey  still have room for Zavala on the roster to act as more of a traditional backup catcher. This could avoid some roster maneuverings since Zavala is out of minor league options, so the Mariners would have to designate him for a signment and expose him to the waiver wire if they wanted to send him to the minor leagues.  Seattle was known to be looking for a power bat for its DH spot, and a right-handed hitter in particular to help balance out the lineup. as  ,  , and  were reportedly on the Mariners radar, but Garver will now join the roster on a two-year pact. Its a little le s than the three-year, $39MM that MLBTR projected for Garver, though its still a nice payday for a player teams mightve seen as more of a pure DH than as a regular backstop.  Adding a big bat at any price also helps change the narrative of what has been a distre sing offseason for Mariners fans. The Mariners a sume total ownership of the ROOT Sports Northwest regional sports network on January 1, and the related additional costs have reportedly limited the teams ability to spend on player payroll. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in early December that the Mariners payroll would rise from its estimated $140MM figure from 2023, yet most of the clubs moves prior to the Garver signing were designed to cut costs. Suarezs trade removed one big salary from the books, and Seattle then got rid of a lot more money with the Braves that saw  dealt e sentially as a manner of unloading the contracts of  and  .  As per , the Mariners projected 2024 payroll now sits at around $128.5MM with Garvers salary added. With the $140MM number from 2023 in mind, this still gives the Ms some flexibility to pursue further needs, like an outfielder or infield help. Dipoto has downplayed the idea of trading from the teams young pitching depth, yet that might be a more cost-effective way of obtaining position-player help than by signing another free agent.  Signing Garver already represents a departure for Dipoto in one sense, as he doesnt often make notable splashes in free agency. Remarkably, Garver is only the first position-player free agent (and only ) Dipoto has signed to a multi-year contract during his eight years running Seattles front office. This might imply that Garver could be it for the Mariners this winter as far as relatively notable free agent signings go, or perhaps Dipoto will change tactics and look at other free agents in order to further bolster the lineup.  first reported the Mariners and Garver had agreed to a two-year, $24MM contract.  Photo courtesy of  USA Today Sports Images  Aaron Brooks Jersey