Garver 'trying to earn playing time' after rocky debut season in Seattle

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mitch Garver probably would’ve arrived at Spring Training before the Mariners’ first full-squad workouts anyway. But on the heels of a tumultuous debut season in Seattle and looking to harness the role in which he finished last year, the veteran indeed descended upon the desert this week as pitchers and catchers reported.

And he’s eager to turn the page.

Garver, 34, has been working out with Seattle’s catchers throughout this early stage of camp as a backstop for bullpen sessions and live batting practices, with the clearest path to playing time in the backup role to Cal Raleigh and/or at designated hitter, the position that the Mariners originally signed him to play almost exclusively ahead of the 2024 season.

“I’m still trying to earn playing time,” Garver said. “So I have that mentality. I am doing a lot of catching. I did more catching work this offseason than I ever have because I feel like that's an important part of my game.”

Garver spent most of last season’s final two months as the Mariners’ backup catcher, a byproduct of both a roster crunch (after the Mariners added Justin Turner at the Trade Deadline to largely DH) and production (Garver’s .168 batting average at the Deadline was MLB’s worst among qualified players).

Even amidst struggles, it was a role that Garver took seriously.

Specifically, Garver established a strong rhythm with George Kirby, catching him for 13 starts, including a stretch in which the Mariners’ pitcher ascended into the late-summer discussion for the American League Cy Young Award. Garver wound up making 25 appearances (23 starts) at catcher, certainly more than the Mariners envisioned when they signed him on the heels of a World Series title run with the Rangers, with whom he was their DH for their playoff run.

“I feel like that's an important part of my game,” Garver said. “I feel like I work well with the pitchers and have some [experience] on that end of the game. Expecting to slot into the backup role is perfect. I want to be as good as I can for our starters. But at the same time, I am really trying to earn playing time as a regular.”

Down the stretch last season, Garver also saw a slight uptick in production at the plate, with a .773 OPS in September compared to a .609 OPS prior, though he wasn’t playing as regularly. Overall, in the first year of a two-year, $24 million contract -- the richest given to a free-agent hitter under president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto -- Garver finished with 15 homers, 51 RBIs and a slash line of .172/.286/.341 (.627 OPS).

“It felt like I was always trying to catch up, always trying to catch up,” Garver said. “So you press a little bit and you try to do more. It just never works that way.”

No moment was more trying for Garver than, coincidentally, the day of the Trade Deadline, when he went 0-for-5 and was at the plate when the Mariners stranded eight of their 13 baserunners in a walk-off, extra-innings loss in Boston. Postgame, Garver candidly opened up about his struggles and revealed that he’d received death threats.

Support was already there among teammates, but it was emboldened even more.

“It was terrible,” Garver said. “It's tough. It's not for everybody, I’ll tell you that. But at the end of the day, it's a new year, and I'm really confident right now.”

Despite few offseason transactions, the Mariners entered spring without much competition for playing time. That said, the DH spot remains murky and can certainly serve as a clearer runway for Garver if he has a strong spring.

Fellow veteran Mitch Haniger-- who has an even less defined role among a crowded outfield of Julio Rodríguez, Victor Robles, Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley -- will also see time at DH, but like Garver, he too is coming off a disappointing season.

At catcher, the only other player on the 40-man roster is Blake Hunt, who’s yet to play in the Majors, making Garver the clear backup to Raleigh, who played an MLB-high 135 games last year at the position.

The opportunity will be there for Garver this spring, and he hopes to make the most of it.