Garver, who turns 35 in January, just completed the final season of a two-year, $24 million deal originally signed in December 2023. At the time, the Mariners viewed him as a primary DH and a backup for Cal Raleigh behind the plate. However, Garver fell short of those expectations on offense, as he posted an 88 wRC+ in 720 plate appearances in 2024-2025. His contract included a $12 million mutual option through 2026, though the club unsurprisingly declined the option last month and instead paid Garver a $1 million buyout and made him a free agent.
In 2025, Garver hit .209/.297/.343 with an 86 wRC+ in 290 plate appearances in 87 games. He shaved a few points off his strikeout rate, going from 30.9% last year to 27.6% this year, while his walk rate dropped slightly from 12.3% to a still-above-average 10.3%. His offensive performance was more or less a repeat of 2024, when he posted an 89 wRC+ in 430 plate appearances. That kind of production isn’t unreasonable for a backup catcher, though it’s not what the Mariners expected from Garver, who was considered a bat-first player at the time of his signing and was coming off a 2023 season with the Rangers in which he posted a 142 wRC+ with 19 home runs.
Defensively, Garver started 42 games behind the plate this year, racking up 376 2/3 innings. While Raleigh was worth two Defensive Runs Saved this year and was rated as the third-best pitch framer among qualified catchers, Garver was worth -6 DRS and was considered a below-average framer. He also received negative marks from Statcast on his blocking and caught steal rates, while his average pop time was only in the 4th percentile. In reality, Garver has never been a strong defender. He was last rated positive by DRS in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. His defense is unlikely to improve in his mid-30s.
At this point, every signing team should be hoping for an offensive rebound. That said, there are some encouraging signs in Garver’s offensive profile. He posted a hard-hit rate of 46.9% in 2025, a whopping six points above the league average of 40.9%. He also increased his average exit speed to 150.5 km/h, after reaching a speed of 140.9 km/h in 2024. For Garver, the key is improving his performance against four-seam fastballs. In 2024 he posted a 163 wRC+ on the field, but only a 77 wRC+ against four-seaters this year. Some regression is normal for a player his age, but it’s also reasonable to expect positive regression given his track record.
A cheaper reunion with Garver would make sense for the Mariners. Now that Ford has been traded to the Nationals and has prospects Luke Stevenson And Jos Caron only in Single-A there is no clear backup for Raleigh on the roster. With the $12 million mutual option declined, a one-year deal for $6-8 million would be a reasonable amount to re-sign Garver for that role. Grid source Currently, the Mariners are projecting a $151 million payroll through 2026, with about $15 million to go before they match their 2025 spending.
Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
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