On Friday, Seattle Mariners ex-backup catcher Mitch Garver signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. Garver will join Triple-A Scranton, and he can opt out of his contract later this month. The Yankees mark Garver’s first organization after a two-and-a-half year tenure with the Seattle Mariners. They released him on Tuesday in a series of roster moves that aimed to help the team find its footing moving forward.
Garver struggled with the Seattle Mariners throughout his time there. When the Mariners initially signed him to a two-year $24 million contract, they thought he would be their everyday designated hitter. However, his performance failed in that regard, and he eventually was relegated as a backup catcher for the organization.
However, the Mariners gave Garver another chance coming into the 2026 season after originally entering free agency. Seattle declined his option after the 2025 season. He built a strong catcher-pitcher relationship with starting pitcher George Kirby, regularly calling his games.
With Garver now in the Yankees organization, he now has time to figure out his swing to get back to his production that he displayed with the Texas Rangers.
With Yankees Deal, Seattle Mariners Garver Era is Over
Even though Garver failed with the Seattle Mariners, they gave him plenty of chances to turn it around.
Sadly, Garver is an example of the Seattle Mariners’ stubbornness when it comes to player performance. When they invest in a player, they want to see it through, and they rarely ever cut their losses early on. In baseball, many teams think this way given the longevity of the season. Overall, its probably a good process to keep players in their role when they are struggling. However, the Mariners can operate this way almost to a fault.
When the Mariners signed Rob Refsnyder for example before this season, the expectation was that he would be the main option in the weakside of a platoon with Luke Raley. However, Refsnyder failed in that role consistently with the Mariners, and they kept giving him plenty of chances to turn it around. Garver experienced a similar fate, but it took several seasons for the Mariners to realize that he was not going to magically turn it around.
Whatever Happens, the Mariners Finally Made the Right Call
While clearly not ideal, Mitch Garver’s career with the Mariners had run its course.
Regardless if Garver turns it around with the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners had to make some subtle improvements to their roster. Simply, Garver ran out of chances to make an improvement. Seattle gave their relationship with Garver a good college try, and his years with the Mariners were tumultuous. His struggles are well documented at this point, but its sad that the signing ultimately failed. Garver now adds his name to the long list of hitters who have come to Seattle without much success to show for it. It is a difficult place for a hitter to continue their career successfully as T-Mobile is such a pitcher friendly ballpark.
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