The Mariners announced the signing of Mitch Garver 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. Seattle’s 40-man roster count sits at 37.
While Cal Raleigh is still Seattle’s 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 Jonah Heim 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 wasn’t an entirely perfect platform season for Garver, however, as he missed 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 possible 546 games since the start of the 2020 season. These health issues (ranging from forearm surgery, an intercostal strain, and knee, groin, and back problems) have contributed to Garver’s 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 would’ve been risky for a team to rely on him for anything more than a timeshare at the position. As MLBTR’s Nick Deeds suggested back in October, Garver’s 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 less pressure 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 Garver’s ability to mash left-handed pitching.
Tom Murphy signed with the Giants last week, though the M’s seemingly prepared for that departure by acquiring catcher Seby Zavala as part of the Eugenio Suarez trade with the Diamondbacks. If Garver is going to primarily be a DH, the Mariners might 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 assignment 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. Such names as Jorge Soler, J.D. Martinez, and Rhys Hoskins were reportedly on the Mariners’ radar, but Garver will now join the roster on a two-year pact. It’s a little less than the three-year, $39MM that MLBTR projected for Garver, though it’s still a nice payday for a player teams might’ve 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 distressing offseason for Mariners fans. The Mariners are set to assume total ownership of the ROOT Sports Northwest regional sports network on January 1, and the related additional costs have reportedly limited the team’s 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 club’s moves prior to the Garver signing were designed to cut costs. Suarez’s trade removed one big salary from the books, and Seattle then got rid of a lot more money in the five-player trade with the Braves that saw Jarred Kelenic dealt essentially as a manner of unloading the contracts of Marco Gonzales and Evan White.
As per Roster Resource, the Mariners’ projected 2024 payroll now sits at around $128.5MM with Garver’s salary added. With the $140MM number from 2023 in mind, this still gives the M’s some flexibility to pursue further needs, like an outfielder or infield help. Dipoto has downplayed the idea of trading from the team’s 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 doesn’t often make notable splashes in free agency. Remarkably, Garver is only the first position-player free agent (and only the fourth free agent whatsoever) Dipoto has signed to a multi-year contract during his eight years running Seattle’s 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.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Mariners and Garver had agreed to a two-year, $24MM contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Excellent pick to be the dh mostly he crushes it when healthy.
Why shoot for the stars and miss, when you can just shoot for S*** and hit. – Jerry Dipoto and company
They may very well have..
Since the Felix Hernandez days the Mariners have been trying to acquire more power it seems like. It’s almost as if their stadium doesn’t reward that kind of hitter yet two decades later the team is still trying. Remember when Griffey asked out of Seattle because of the stadium. Weird and they seem to be doing well in developing pitching.
The park doesn’t effect power numbers anymore. When they moved the fences in, the outfield went from being in the top 5 biggest in area to being much smaller, especially in the gaps. That means outfielders don’t have as much ground to cover. It’s become one of the most difficult parks to get an extra base hit other than home runs.
That’s simply not true. Rated by Statcast as the 31st best ballpark for hitting and 18th best for HR. Only Williamsport PA and their one game a year ranks worse. The Kingdome, with its hard-as-concrete turf, short fences, and dry heat, was a hitter’s paradise. T-Mobile is just the opposite, especially in night games in April, May, and September. Funny: those have been the team’s worst months of the last 2 years.
It is the park. Get some high contact, low-strikeout, hitters with speed instead of asking guys like Dylan Moore to hit homers every time up. Get Arozarena and Kim in trades and sign the hometown kid, Blake Snell, even if you have to give up a major league starter to do it (Woo, Miller, Hancock, Brash, etc.).
Zippy- bingo about the hitting. Great plan for this roster
T-Mobile plays at the league average for home runs. It plays in the bottom 5 for doubles, triples, and…..singles. That is not indicative of a big ballpark.
It isn’t the size, it’s the marine layer that neuters balls worse than the ASPCA
The ballpark weather is a factor that is way overplayed. Yes, it’s cold in April… no more cold than a place like Chicago or Boston. It’s not cold in May or September. The ballpark is one of the harder places to get extra base hits, but that’s due to dimensions, not weather.
Actual power hitters (like Julio or Cal) are not having their HRs die at the warning track because it’s 42 degrees in April.
It may neuter a Jesse Winker fly ball, it does not neuter a Julio missile. The “Marine Layer” is more an indictment on the M’s offense over the years than anything else.
“Neuters more balls than a vet,” would have been a better choice.
Yes, if there’s anything we need more of it’s crudity.
What’s interesting is Garver is 0 for 31 lifetime in Seattle, yet 17 for 52 vs. them with 4 HR away from Seattle. Small sample size, but he may struggle to hit there as some others clearly have.
Uhh….. I think you need to read the comment you’re replying to again and then your “rebuke”
Them:
“…[T]he outfield went from being in the top 5 biggest in area to being much smaller.
…
It’s become one of the most difficult parks to get an extra base hit other than home runs.”
Your supposed rebuke:
“[Their park is the] 31st best ballpark for [BABIP] and 18th best for HR.”
The Park Factor history of SafeCo/ TMP is consistent with being a BABIP killer and — especially since the fences were moved — also suppressing HR, but not nearly as fiercely as its reputation (though this is mostly because it has actually slightly boosted HR to RF-to-RCF for the most part over its history).
B does not counter A. It is, in fact, empirical support.
Griffey didn’t “ask out” of Seattle because of the stadium, that is pure fiction. He basically told the Mariners to trade him to his hometown Cincinnati Reds or he would play out his final year in Seattle and likely leave in free agency. Griffey wasn’t afraid of Safeco Field lol.
You are part right. Had nothing to do with the stadium but he didn’t really want to leave Seattle. He hated ARod and he knew that ARod was juicing. He gave the GM an ultimatum, trade ARod or trade me. The GM stupidly traded Griffey. If he had traded ARod Griffey likely spends his whole career in Seattle. What could have been.
Ryan, it had nothing to do with Arod. Once JR had it in His mind “he wanted to go play in Cin” that was it. Same with Randy J- GM said we’re not going to talk, about an extention…RJ wanted out.
Watched a documentary a couple years ago where it specifically talked about Griffey hating ARod and the ultimatum. Going to cinci was where he wanted to go once staying in Seattle wasn’t an option.
How do you know Griffey didn’t use PEDS just because he hated ARod❓
@Ryan You may be right, but I think I’d need to hear that out of Junior’s mouth. Documentaries aren’t news…though news is rarely news anymore. Everyone has a slant.
It did have everything to do with ARod. Pat Gillick has said as much. Gillick also said, in hindsight, he would’ve traded ARod and won championships built around Griffey, had he known M’s would lose ARod to the biggest FA contract ever (at the time).
Yes, the boon to Seattle of having one of the most expensive players in the game giving them 13 WAR over 9 seasons.
What might have been.
I think it’s called dodging a howitzer shell.
Who are you talking about?
Where did you hear this? I read… a lot… and grew up in Seattle through the Ichiro rookie season and never heard this narrative. His dad was a coach for the Reds and he wanted to be close to his parents which were living in Cincinnati because his family was in Florida.
It made in easier to see his wife and kids, while having the seasons to spend with his parents, and the offseason at home in Florida. David Bell went to Cincinnati for the same reason. They all came out of the same high school. I actually moved to Cincinnati shortly after and the vibes were the same here about the move.
The reason he wished he never left was because the Reds fans were mean to him and always complained about his injuries, while their hometown announcer Marty Brenneman was absolutely brutal everytime he messed up or didn’t get the big hit. None of them ever appreciated the huge discount he gave to the team in both length and value.
He did the first real Shohei deferral vesides Bonilla, and the difference was he took a huge paycut. The original offer (and reason for leaving) are linked below, but it was $140M/8 years ($17.5M/year), he signed in Cincy for $116.5M/9 years ($12.94M/year) because the owner didn’t want to pay $13M per year to any player, not even Griffey.
Then he deferred it so much he was getting paid as one of the highest paid on the Reds team in 2023. While his irritation with the Mariners was more about them offering more per year to Alex because Junior was 29 and Alex was 25, meaning his deal would cover more prime. So the offer (2nd link) was $85M/5 years $19M annually) to A-Rod, so he could still walk in his prime.
a.espncdn.com/mlb/news/1999/1102/147631.html
sodomojo.com/2021/12/22/mariners-alex-rodriguez-se…
Assuming this is true, I think keeping Arod was much wiser — I mean if you like young generational talents as opposed to aging superstars unable to stay healthy. As great as Griffey was, he was never as good as Arod in his prime. Not even close.
Not the first time we’ve heard that Griffey hated Arod. I saw that same documentary as well. Keep reading. The Mariners were around before 2001.
Griffey did NOT ask to be traded because of the ballpark.
Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz had no problems hitting home runs in Seattle. Anyone else they signed doesn’t know how to hit (Adrian Beltre made a swing adjustment that didn’t work that he corrected in Boston). If y’all want home run hitters, tell your ownership to stop being cheap or *gasp* develop them
It’s like pitching in Colorado. The pitching in Colorado has an ERA around 5 or 6 because they’re not very good. Not because pitching in Coors is that much harder
Correction:
It’s not “…the Mariners have been trying to acquire more power…”
Rather, it’s “…the Mariners have been saying they’re “trying” to acquire more power…”
That’s a nice move. good for Garver. he will definitely go backwards going from a great park to central park lol
The rangers built a new stadium a while back now… Garver is a heck of an offensive force. I didn’t think he’d be back but I thought he’d get more than this for me to be ok about it. I’d definitely have taken him back on this deal
Maybe he wanted out of Texas and/or the Rangers didn’t offer as much.
Probably the latter since not too long ago he replied to a tweet from a fan thanking him for helping the rangers win it all with “who says I’m leaving?”.
Something tweeted to a fan means nothing.
You pondered a question and I answered with a reasonable response. While a tweet to a fan doesn’t mean much neither does speculation on where he’d sign. My response was was based off of something he said instead of a big nothing burger.
But a tweet to fans is a nothing burger.
Remember the scene on the bus in “Bull Durham?”
“It’s time to work on your interviews. You have to learn your cliches.”
“Of course it’s boring. That’s the point.”
@Blue Baron Certainly possible. Jonah Heim seems like he’d do a lot better catching 90-100 games a year rather than 110-125, and Garver’s not a particularly good complement to that. Both hit LHP much better, too.
Garver’s a good hitter—just not a good fit.
This is total conjecture, but some of the guys they acquired in Texas are real jerks (narcissistic, brash, etc.) or enigmatic at times (Chapman, Scherzer, etc.). Plus Sam Huff wasn’t ready when they got Garver, now they probably feel they can have Huff fill a similar role, with a similar offensive upside, at a fraction of the cost, and with less injury red flags. I personally think the Rangers were up to something last year because too many players of different talent levels, experience, and age were all playing over their head in 2023. This signing may be as much about probing him for info as getting his stick in the lineup.
It’s the Rangers we’re talking about. Not the Astros.
What difference does that make? Fans have no firsthand knowledge of players’ personalities.
I was teasing as he was insinuating the rangers were cheating
I was insinuating that they started bringing in jerks and clubhouse cancers like Scherzer who was so full of his own crap, he thought it was justified and appropriate to call out the team in front of the press and announce to the world he was going to go talk about the direction of the team with the owner and front office, as a Met.
He may have been a great competitor, but he’s old and expensive now, while also lacking any kind of filter. He’s always been a loose cannon, but he mainly kept that on the field. The problem is he’s taking Mad Max on tour and leaving his teammates in his wake. I bet the Rangers players like having his #4 starter stuff in their rotation, but it’s the other 4 days that they probably want to wish him away.
I’m a big fan of avoiding toxic clubhouse personalities, which is why I’m starting to think the Mariners dodged a bullet with Ohtani. It’s like the movie Fraft Day, where Kevin Costner is trying to figure out what he’s missing about the one QB, which is what I think Ohtani is in a nutshell. I wouldn’t be surprised if Garver out hit Ohtani in 2024 based on what Ohtani did in his last elbow recovery season.
For the record, I think Raleigh is starting to become a problem in the clubhouse, not that I disagree with him. I don’t, he’s right to be mad about the lack of spending, but Sewald said guys he went golfing with can’t wait to leave because of it. Sewald is good friends with Justin Hollander (M’s GM) and is throwing him under the bus on a live interview. Meanwhile Raleigh is broadcasting to all his teammates that he’s all but gone.
These are issues to addres and when you have guys basically signaling they don’t want to be here, the GM needs to protect the team culture and ship out the player. I’d trade Raleigh, Gilbert, and anyone else that has said they won’t sign an extension or who said they want to leave. There are good ball players all over the league and guys on worst teams who would be excited to come to Seattle. For instance, anybody on the Pirates or Athletics.
It’s rare that we, as outsiders, gave any clue about which players are, or are not, a problem in the clubhouse. Raleigh is well-liked and seems to care about preparing to play and about winning.
Raleigh isn’t unique.
Every player who makes it to the rarefied level of MLB cares about working hard, preparing to play, and winning. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t make it and certainly wouldn’t stay long.
But telling other players you are gone when you hit free agency is a clear indicator you are already checked out! How do you build a positive clubhouse culture, when in the same breath you are talking about switching to another team? Sewald went on Foul Territory, showed a picture of him golfing with Brash and Cal, then said guys were saying they were gone in a couple years.
And has told Sewald while golfing thst he is gone. Sewald indicated “someone” said they were leaving in a couple years, during a round of golf, then showed a picture of the foursome, which included Brash and Cal. You don’t need to be in the clubhouse or be psychic to know he isn’t happy in Seattle with this ownership. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but having him tell rookies and new players to buy into the team culture while talking abouy his next team destination is why they dont have guys on a two week notice, train the new hire at your job.
Then you failed to articulate that in your original post. What would Max’s alleged bad behavior have to do with multiple Rangers “playing above their head” and what would Garver add to that conclusion since the instance you referenced with Max happened when he was a Met?
You are splicing two separate ideas.
One, Garver might not want to play on the same team with a bunch of jerks.
Two, the Red Sox were found to have cheated, Aaron Judge basically said if you arent cheating you aren’t trying or something similar to that, the Dodgers said aomething similar, and as you listed, the Astros were trash and then banged trash to stop being trash.
However, if you look at everyone on the Rangers, only Lowe and Semien didn’t put up significant increases over career highs in terms of rate and counting stats. Most of which were accompanied by unusual changes in plate coverage and strike zone awareness, not to mention unsustainably high BABIP, all while the lesgue threw harder and nastier than it ever had before.
If you disagree with me, go read a few dozen articles on what drives BABIP and Josh Jung is not a poster child for a .340 BABIP, he’s projected for a .315 after factoring in his 2023, which followed a .278 BABIP in 2022. So he’s probably a .300ish BABIP realistically. Average speed, plus power, flyball hitter, max .310 to .315 if he hits 35 bombs.
Adolis Garcia goes from a wild swinging 28 K% over 5-6 BB% to a guy who maintains his strikeout %, yet raised his walk percentsge by 3-4 points at 30+ years old. Old dogs, new tricks. Last guy to do something like what he did were Luis Gonzalez of AZ. One or two of these stories happen from time to time, but guys in their late 20s and early 30s don’t all explode to career highs simultaneously across the ehole roster. Garcia went from a 110 wRC+ to a 124 wRC+ despite a BABIP deficit year-over-year.
I’ll pull up just short of calling them cheaters until I run some numbers and can conclusively build an argument and a theory on how they did it. But I will say that the Mariners were one of the best teams in the league in terms of pitching and got lit up,eanwhile in Seattle, the Rangers could barely hit the same staff. A couple close games go the Mariners way and Texas doesn’t even make the playoffs, yet they bludgeoned that same team multiple times in Texas, which was built on pitching.
To do a litmus test on fanboying your home team. Objectively look at the 2022 and 2023 Rangers teams, read the names and then tell me that there were 6 deserving All-Stars on that team. Heim was good but fringe as an All-Star, Semien sure, Seager of course, Garcia was worthy enough. Eovaldi was a reach, Jung was good but not worth of an All-Star pick, over Devers? Chapman? Bregman? Anywho final thought Heim had a lower HH rate, had a lower HR rate, yet had a BABIP of .289 following his career gigh of .249 in 2022, which was a career high after never BABIPing above .229 and being a failed MLB catcher prior to Texas.
Stopping just short of calling them cheaters but then implies cheating. Good save. BABIP is a stat that involves a little more luck compared to others. Not to mention the factoring of hard hit rates and exit velocity to it as well. Also, them having 6 Allstars means nothing. That’s all fan voted. Even so the Rangers 6 spots weren’t even the biggest snuffs in last years ASG. I’m not fanboying, you are just being silly. I’m biased but clearly, so are you.
Overpay and risky considering his injury proneness.
Overpay? He’s like a three plus win player when healthy.
He has only ever played over 100 games one season his whole career. He’s a full-time DH if he stays healthy. For an M’s team that just traded a young talented outfielder to offload cash I’d say it’s pretty ballsy.
Its a good move for a team, period. As for having traded a young, talented OF, I’m only aware of them trading Kelenic. A prospect with potential that never developed. With no options remaining. Pretty easy choice if its a choice between the two. I don’t think it was. Seattle just got tired of waiting.
Depends on whether they expect him to wear the tools of ignorance or strictly DH and secretly see him as a 1B option (in case Ty France does French things). If he is a full-time DH who plays a couple games at 1B and catches only in case of emergency, then he’s 130 games/year. If you put him as a backup catcher 25-30 games, you’re probably sacrificing 30-40 games, plus who knows how much his offense ticks up without the wear-and-tear of catching.
My hot take is this could lead them to adding Bellinger (one report said they had $35M to spend, as recent as Turkey Day), this means they could structure the deal in a way to fit Garver and Bellinger into that salary window. It would require trading to fill the rest of the holes on the roster, but it’s doable.
Hypothetically, they add Bellinger for $200M/10 years with opt outs and incentives for health and production. That leaves $3M, you then trade France to Minnesota for Kepler, we’ll assume the Mariners give a #25-30 prospect and the Twins eat the salary difference to make it even money.
They then have Bellinger at 1B, Garver the backup. Bellinger can also rotate to the outfield as the backup CF and maybe the 3rd or 4th option in the corners. Kepler takes over RF, giving Canzone a year to force his way into the outfield rotation. Marlowe becomes AAA depth in case of injury.
The Mariners then trade Cole Young (he’s a lesser version of Colt Emerson long-term), a Pittsburgh native, Top 25-50 MLB prospect, and someone who fits their window of competition to the Pirates along with Bryan Woo, Luis Urias ($5M), and Justin Topa ($1.5M). The Mariners get back 3B Hayes ($7M), OF Reynolds ($10.25M), RP Moreta, and $7M cash for a net increase of $3M, taking the Mariners to full payroll.
The final trade would be SP Logan Gilbert and RP Prelander Berroa for SP Kyle Bradish and SP/RP Tyler Wells (long relief/6th starter), plus $2M to offset salary to Wells in arb. Gilbert is a year younger, more durable, and has higher upside, most likely reaching ace level in 2024. Bradish dominates the Texas teams, plus Wells, Ray, and Hancock offer alternative options to offset the smaller workload he has given.
Potential other deals could be for Freddy Fermin to upgrade the backup catching position or Brent Rooker to be a 1B (was in college) and corner outfielder if Bellinger isn’t available or they want to work some platooning scenario that takes advantage of Bellinger’s defensive flexibility in a 3-player platoon across two positions.
Either way, both of Fermin or Rooker are minimum salary and don’t effect the budget. As it would stand, the team would only need to add $18M more after Garver to cover these scenarios. The team would be Cal, Garver, Belli, Rojas, J.P., Hayes, Reynolds, Julio, and Max, with a bench of Zavala, Moore, Haggerty, and Caballero.
The rotation would be Castillo, Kirby, Bradish, Miller, Wells/Ray/Hancock. The bullpen would be Brash, Moreta, Munoz, Speier at the backend with Saucedo being the lefty specialist, and Vargas, Thornton, Adcock, Bazardo, Bolton, Kowar, and whomever they take off tge scrap heap and turn into an inning eating arm in middle- or long-relief.
As the part-time player he is (~50% of games between BU C and DH), he’s worth ~2 wins
At $12m/y, that’s the exact opposite of overpay. That’s nearly double the value of a typical FA win — ESPECIALLY for a part-time player.
“when” is the key word. Seattle isn’t looking for some extra player. They’re in need of regular legit “playing 150 games” type of player.
Neither Cal/Garver should be run out 150 games a year. This move should protect both players. Keep their bat in lineup
You’re partly right.
I completely agree that their need isn’t a medium-risk, cheap, value FA who is a good bet to provide value when healthy as a roleplayer, but isn’t a good bet to be healthy and whose value gets reduced when role is stretched.
However, given the “budget concerns” (of the most profitable team in the league………………) and previous moves this offseason, I would say that they are indeed looking for just some extra, niche-filling, roleplaying-type players. Those are cheap, after all.
He is a better value and cheaper than hoskins And i am a hoskins fan
Underpay and unrisky considering his elite offensive numbers as a catcher
Health and park adjusted stats were mentioned by others. Unless he’s catching 50 games next year, which I doubt, I would have looked at Turner or JDM.
Garver is a few years younger, and is a great hitter. His injuries had everything to do with him being a catcher and dealing with the extra wear and tear that brings. In Seattle he’ll DH 90% of the time.
Turner and JDM are 39, and 36, respectively. They’re more likely to decline heavily due to age.
“Great hitter?!” We just throwing out those terms to guys who hit 15-20 jacks and are average at best in the 4 remaining categories.
His wRC+ was I believe 134, while Julio and Crawford led the team in 2023 with a 118 each. That’s a pretty big gap in offensive value inbfavor of Garver. If DHing keeps him healthy, he’s a younger version of JD Martinez, at half the cost, who can be an occasional 1B and/or an emergency catcher. He’s basically a RH Bryce Harper at this point for 1/2 the annual salary, and half a decade less years of commitment
All deals have some risk. If he played 150+ games a year he wouldn’t be available for 2 years/$24 million. If he manages 400 AB’s he’s a bargain, and even if it’s closer to 300 it’s probably a fair deal.
@Buzzz Killington You’re being a buzzkill on Christmas Eve, sir
@Buzzz Killington Funny, that you sensibly point out his injury history as clearly an issue, and the next commenter can only say ‘yeah, but when he’s not injured!…’ as if he’s ever not injured.
Sigh.
It’s just stating the obvious though- The injury history is baked into the price. They aren’t expecting 600 AB’s. Sigh
I could see this as a strategy, knowing they will get a premium hitter when he’s in there, but it also will leave gaps for young players to get the chance to prove themselves.
It almost seems that once an injured player(s), and contract negotiation are based on speculative returns. Do you take a chance with them? In more times than not they are wiling to..
Merry Christmas to all you baseball fanatics!
Baseball still around? I thought they only play Manfredball now
Ya filthy bleacha creatures.
Merry Christmas Balk!!!
If we get 2023 Garver cool but if we get 2022 Mitch then it’s gonna be a long year
What if we get 2021 Garver?
Badass
Let’s hope the ‘s don’t sign another DH. Garver may catch 20 games but will DH and PH the rest of the time. Now if the M’s also sign Soler, they’ll have two people what bat only…
Yeah I think this puts us out on Soler
This will allow them to DH Raleigh more often as well. With 3 catchers on the roster, they can get creative to keep the bigger bats fresh.
Bigger bats? Haggerty, Moore, Caballero, Urias, Rojas?
Bigger bats at catcher: Raleigh and Garver. In other words, not Zavala.
Zavala may get DFA’d now. He’s out of options.
I think Zavala will get a shot to compete in spring. I don’t think they really want Garver playing catcher. But yeah if it’s not working they won’t feel bad DFA.
To that same thought, I think Zavala’s leash, so to speak, just got a lot shorter, considering he’s out of options. I’m sure they’ll give him a good look in spring, but may not make the club…
I don’t expect him to go anywhere. Garver will be a DH first, catcher second.
I think it’s more likely we’ll see an infielder moved or optioned.
Sort of thought that too right when I hit Post. Unless they intend to only use Garver as the full time DH, then Zavala has a spot as backup C.
Nobody is getting dfa’d because of this move. 40 man roster was at 36 prior to Garver agreeing to a deal/
Nobody is talking about a roster move to make room for Garver, they’re talking about the future roster when they will have 4 outfielders, too many infielders and three catchers.
But Zavala’s job is probably safe.
I don’t think Garver is there to be anything more than an emergency option at catcher. I think he’s the hedged bet against Driveline Ty, but will serve as the regular DH if France can hit like he did in the past, or he might even be the insurance policy, so they can trade France and still have a 1B on the roster, if they start playing musical chairs and the music stops before they can finish.
I’m betting Zavala doesn’t make the roster, he’s a placeholder to be DFA’d when they get a real backup or Hunt forces the issue.
A true Xmas miracle!
A tequila sunrise Sunday surprise.
Hard not to like for the money. Having a backup catcher like him is a big advantage for your roster because now DH and backup catcher are all 1 person instead of 2.
It’s exactly what they tried last year w/ Murphy but Garver is a much better player. I like the move and the price!
Now Texas needs to get Rhys Hoskins on a 1 year prove it deal.
Actually gonna say the Ms should get Hoskins on a 1 or 2 year deal…more money of course.
If they did, France would probably go. No room for all three of them.
Damn i thought he’d stay in TX
Maybe he wanted out for some reason.
I think its more likely TX is trying to spend this money on a starting pitcher before worrying about locking down their backup catcher/DH.
Noooooooo!
What an odd deal. Tom Murphy does the same platoon job at 1/3 the price.
Kind of what I thought
lol he’s the dh
Tom Murphy is a Giant now. He signed a two year deal of his own last week.
I know… It’s more that we already had that player and could have got the same role for 1/3 the price.
Murphy has just been injured way too much. Missed a lot of time. And tbh I don’t think he was that great at DH. Graver has had his injury issues too but is a better upside than Murph.
Garver can hit against RHPs.
Garver is twice the hitter that Murph is. He can hit both LHP and RHP. He’s the full time DH and in that role is much less likely to be injured. He should get 500+ ABs for the first time in his career. Now they need to get a corner OF. Kepler?
Loved Murph, he couldn’t stay healthy either.
At least he costs half of what Garver does. They’re both the same guy.
A third
You do have to consider the possibility that Murphy didn’t want to return to Seattle, or perhaps they wouldn’t offer him as much.
Either way, at $12MM AAV is price that big of an issue?
When the Mariners have about 25 million to spend on 4 bats and spend half of it on an oft injured backup catcher yes cost is an issue…
They only have $25MM to spend? That seems….I don’t know….not true. If it is true, they either feel that Garver is worth it offensively, or whomever it was that made that ultimate decision should be immediately terminated.
@hllywdjff: How do you expect to sign four decent hitters for $25mm?
YC – it appears to be true based on everything we have been hearing from Dipoto & Servais. The M’s are crying broke due to their RSN issues.
BB- that’s a great question but best directed at John Stanton or Jerry DiPoto. They’ve said payroll will likely remain at the same level as last year, which is why they had to pivot to dumping payroll instead of Plan A. Their RSN is a dumpster fire at the moment and Stanton isn’t willing to up payroll while they figure it out.
Would could have gotten minimum 3 between trades and free agency
Dipoto is known for trading for hitters, not signing them. This is the first multi-year free agent that he has signed. Hitters don’t want to come to the Pacific Northwest.
They put financial limitations on themselves while jacking up ticket prices this season. We really love Stanton, Dipoto, and the rest of the imbeciles running the show
Got Ya, thanks. But, they need to look at the bright side… they paid only $24MM for their DH, but the Dodgers paid $700MM for theirs!
I’d still prefer the $700M one, but I’m bougie haha
@letsplaytwo: “Hitters don’t want to come to the Pacific northwest.”
Or, to be more accurate, money talks and BS walks.
How else do you explain the Mariners signing Ichiro, Bret Boone, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, and John Olerud?
They don’t need four bats, come on now. They can handle 2B with internal options. They need an OF bat and one more bat on top of that (two would be great). They have plenty of young LHH outfielders that could use a RHH compliment as that second bat. Another option at the corner infield spots would be nice to add as well so they have coverage on France/Urias.
Don’t forget Sexson and Beltre!
Lance Lynn money…
9kYeah, you’re probably right, he wanted to play in the same division as the defending NL Champs, NL West winning team, and walk home along the same streets that are covered with 50 tons of human feces every day, while playing with a team that uses Flores and Wade Jr. as their current version of Bonds and Kent.
My thoughts exactly! Gonna miss Murphy – classy guy……
Especially after his new hair plugs!
Garver is a better hitter than Murphy. 3 times better per the price tag? Probably not, but still this is an improvement at DH. Ball is still in their court, still a lot of holes to plug and seemingly no money to do it.
They have the money to fill the holes, and ownership is choosing not to spend, ( as much ) as previously advertised.
As much public money as this ownership group has taken, you’d think they could invest a little more in the success of the team even with the RSN dumpster fire in progress.
You’d figure that since they just took over 100 percent share of RSN, the previous 29 percent share from Discovery Network, that they’d start to see more proceeds, as RSN broadcasts Trailblazers, Kraken, Sounders and many other sports. Ms have to be profiting from that you’d think right?
I don’t think that’s a plus. Apparently Stanton met with the ROOT folks and couldn’t promise them they’d still have a job. Obviously I’m not an insider to how bad it is but what I’ve heard indicates it may be running at a loss. 100% ownership of a negativr net income just means they get to decide it’s fate, really. I’ve heard speculation from Seattle Times folks that ROOT may not survive as an entity beyond baseball season 2024.
Think how much they grossed, just from All-Star week!
They have a few similarities but they aren’t really the same kind of hitters. Garver has career 25.6% K pct, .342 OBP, 123 OPS+ vs 32%, .313, 106 for Murph. Would be fun to see what either guy could do with 550 AB’s but I don’t think that’s likely.
Finally
First move to add is a winner! Still need a couple more bats, but Merry Christmas from John Stanton!
Clutch big league hitter and a champ. Best of luck to you Mitch.
Not a bad pickup, should be a solid DH. Let’s keep it rollin Stanton! Merry Xmas.
Garver 2/24 and Murphy signs for 2/8? Basically the same player but pay 16 million more for Garver? Come on Jerry you are losing it! Must have had his I have to make a deal addiction overcome him lol
You are sooo wrong, I do love crazy eyes TM but his best year was 75games played once! And his strike out rates were what Jerry has been getting away from this off season, so not the “same player”
Garver is not worth the extra 16 million we are spending when we could have had Murphy and Arozarena and Parades for the same price Jerry just has to trade his beloved pitching we have the depth to do it. Murphy is 25/65 over a 162 schedule and Garver is 30/82 so not a HUGE difference…
They aren’t the same player at all. Garver takes much better at bats than Murph and can hit righties. I think you’ll like what you see from him next year. $12M a year is a good deal for a 3 win player. The moves aren’t mutually exclusive. They still need to trade for that big bat. I’m just glad they did SOMETHING positive. 1 hole filled, 3 to go lol
Murphy can’t hit RHPs.
When Jerry announces landing a player on Christmas Eve, Ir automaticaly makes me smile. He’s saying “Merry Christmas, Seattle.”
The last time this happened . . .but wait . . . I won’t give the name.
Dig it out, though, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
. . . Great fit. Cal Raleigh is a clutch hitter. Mitch Garver is a clutch hitter. And Cal can go both ways, Lt or Rt. Just Wow.
Damn $12m/yr Dipoto is definitely away from high SO guys. I loved Murphey but he couldn’t stay healthy. Triple the price for Garver.
We got Snell basically BEGGING to be a Mariner and they can’t find some creative financing to please both sides??!! Bringing Snell in creates so many different options for us to go.
Yes! SNELL for Christmas! Please Santa Jerry! Get creative……. I mean the Dodgers figured out how to spend over a Billion dollars on two players. Get creative!!!!!
They are probably exploring multiple scenarios that can address needs, but with so many teams with SPs as trade chips, and Dipoto’s front office not know for patience to address needs, I don’t think Snell is likely going to be a Mariner very soon.
It would be interesting if he’s still on the board in early February.
Here is to another 20 year playoff drought
On our 54 percent effort plan Jerry outlined, let’s try for a 40 year drought.
We might not have to try. It might happen on its own.
Before the reported Mitch Garver signing, ZiPS projected the current Seattle roster with 85-90 wins in 2024.
Really? Do they have the Rangers and Astros winning 115 in 2024 then?
I’m with you on your frustrations towards ownership but as constructed the M’s are 80+ win team easily. Very few teams have a rotation or pen as good as ours. It’s just frustrating because the lineup once again is shaping up to be middle of the road. Probably not enough to make the playoffs tho, or not without Texas or Houston falling apart.
100%
I’m predicting it will be similar to last season with all three teams being competitive and jockeying for the division lead for most of the summer. Astros and Rangers should regress a bit which will benefit M’s. There’s not a small percentage chance that the Astros just completely lose their minds and become a .500 team. It will be the beginning of the end for the Astros dynasty.
Ignorant – I hope you are correct. I think the Rangers have the same RSN dumpster fire the M’s have. If that affects their ability to get Monty back that rotation is pretty sus. It’ll be interesting to see how the Stros navigate the next few years. I wouldn’t bet against them being in the thick of things.
Mariners will still be down a catcher in 2025 unless Harry Ford is able to make the jump from the minor leagues.
Cal Raleigh is likely to jump ship after 2024. Especially if the Mariners fail to get deep into the playoffs this season.
Well it’s good that he’s under control until he becomes a UFA in 2028..
How exactly do you see him jumping ship? Does he somehow have an opt out we aren’t aware of? Would be pretty crazy if a pre-arb player somehow got that in his contract.
Cal can’t go anywhere through 2027 unless we trade him.
If he continues his snotty attitude I can picture him being traded in the next season or two. And l I would be completely fine with that.
Cal was right. Good teams support their stars, bad teams blame their best players.
Trading away your good young core because they want to win? Thats weird.
You ready to trade all the players that agreed with Cal and publicly said so?
What does Seattle need now 2-OF & 2B ???
3B, 2B, LF, RF
And a closer……
I think Topa could show some promise as a closer.
I would love for an upgrade at 1B also but maybe Driveline can make Ty France decent again
Two corner outfielders, and we know one of them is likely going to be a platoon partner for Canzone (Grichuk?). Hopefully a third baseman as well as a closer, or at least another high-leverage reliever.
I don’t think they need to worry about 2B with Rojas, Urías, Moore, Haggerty, Caballero, and Bliss as options,(for now) for 2024.
Then there’s Cole Young climbing the ladder quickly. He could debut at some point in 2025 if he doesn’t become a trade chip.
I agree they have a lot of Middle IF options, however none of them can consistently hit. Hoping for a break out from Cade Marlowe for LF and always pull for Taylor Trammell’s success. I’d like to see a 3B move next, to replace Genio’s production we lost.
We’ll likely see a platoon with Rojas getting the lion’s share of PAs facing RHPs. But it’s fair to Wonder who will primarily face LHPs. Seattle may not even know right now.
But they have so many RHHs, I could see one getting moved. I don’t think they’ll likely look for a regular.
At this point Seattle returns Josh Rojas, Jose Caballero and Dylan Moore at second base after Mariner second basemen posted a league-average 101 wRC+ in the second half of 2023. Luis Urias and prospect Ryan Bliss have been added to the mix.
God please no , not Grichuk.
Look at his splits. If they go with a free agent to platoon with Canzone, it’s hard to argue he doesn’t fit.
C Us: Does trading one of your SPs make sense for the Mariners? If so, I’d believe the Cubs with the number of young OFers close to being MLB ready, would be a team to attempt to work something out with. Ian Happ has a NTC, but Seattle might be a place I could see him being pleased with. Cubs could use a MOR SPer for 2024.
For the love of God let’s get rid of Dylan Moore and the ks and contract and also trade Trammell and Haggerty…Clean up the trash on the roster Ms
Canzone will rake and will play outfield.
They don’t need a 2B guy, they have that covered internally. They need an outfielder for sure, maybe a RH platoon OF bat too. A corner infield backup would be nice too
In the second half of 2023 the Seattle Mariners ranked sixth in the league in fWAR from second base with a robust 2.7 fWAR in 73 games. Josh Rojas, Jose Caballero and Dylan Moore contributed and remain on the current roster. The M’s have since traded for Luis Urias and await the projected 2024 arrival of intriguing second-base prospect Ryan Bliss.
Like most teams the Mariners have offseason needs but second base is not at the top of the list.
At least a couple outfielders. Im sure they’re fishing for a another infielder and bullpen help.
Need to give Atlanta one of them young arms for Grissom
We can hope but Seattle isn’t that stupid!
The only surprise here, at least for me, is the guarantee. I would have guessed 2/12 to 2/18.
But whatever. This is good for Seattle.
This one’s a real head scratcher. Jerry’s looking desperate.
Should have just kept Geno at that price.
Seems like a solid bat who can fake ot at a position of need in a pinch.
I like this move! I hope he can stay healthy and play a full season…they could use his bat.
Nobody should be excited about replacing JK, and Suarez with Mitch Garver. Garver is a fine back of the roster depth piece. Not a middle of the line up masher.
I think the excitement surrounding Garver is the fact the Ms actually did something as far as addition, not Garver himself…
Garver might be the full-time DH & occasionally back up catcher & 1B. His durability has been an issue but maybe at DH he gets 500+ ABs❓
I know Kelenic is not a middle of the lineup masher, and Suarez has seen better days.
Exactly. So we are on the same page that this could be called a lateral move at best. The problem isn’t moving on from Suarez and JK, its that this is hardly an upgrade and I don’t see the Mariners spending a lot more.
Not an upgrade over MIke Ford?
Nope.
Well Lark, he’s replacing La Stella, Mike Ford and the collection of right-handed hitting middle infielders that covered the DH PAs last season.
But Garver absolutely is a middle-orddr bat and Jarred Kelenic most certainly wasn’t one.
Agree to disagree. Mitch Garver is a back of the roster depth piece, not a middle of the order bat.
Garver’s 137 wRC+ last year would have led the Ms, beating Julio’s numbers even. He was one of the half dozen best right handed hitters in the AL last year. He’s a middle of the order masher with great pitch recognition skills who will benefit tremendously from not catching any more.
Kelenic was garbage outside of April and the majority of the last three years. Can we stop acting like he was even an average player most of his time. The issue with moving him was losing the potential of a young player with control.
Correct. Garver has an established record of being injured and is on the back side of his peak performance years.
This is a great signing for the Mariners. Garver has been one of the most underrated hitters in baseball for the past few years, and they obviously desperately need hitting. I thought he would get closer to $35 million or so, so this has a chance to be one of the better value signings of the offseason.
Well, I can mark Garver off the D’Back possibilities list.
Well I’d rather have Garver DHing than Murphy. The price tag is fine. More expensive than Murphy but I’m quite confident he’s a significantly better hitter than Murphy. I’ll reserve further judgment until I see Jerry’s full body of work this offseason. I am glad to see them finally add.
Mariners can still fit Arozerana’s 9 million dollar salary into their budget (140 million if you believe DiPoto) by trading away 2/3 prospects. Would take care of the big LF bat they need.
I still have hope that the they sign Snell and then Trade SP Miller or Woo, Marlowe or another young outfielder, and two prospects for Arozarena and Parades….I think that one of the prospects may need to be Harry Ford….
Woo who!
Hope Garver does well..
Dipoto – “You’re welcome Mariners fans”
More like: “Let them eat cake” – Jerry Antoinette
Point your anger at ownership ya’ll, not Jerry. Garver is a good piece. They gotta make more moves tho and Jerry knows it.
Jerry did his fair share to get us here. He deserves all the ire coming his way. Just in the past 2 years, his moves have been suspect at best, but everyone keeps looking past them.
Good luck to Garv Sauce in Seattle.
I was hoping for Justin Turner, but maybe Garver will be okay. Last year he was good, but the year before he was not.
Please not Justin Turner; he’s on the wrong side of 35, by quite a bit.
I’m hoping the Dodgers re-sign Justin Turner because at 39 he’s still is way better defensively than Max Muncy.
OF course I’m please that they fulfilled a much needed spot in the lineup. Garver is it? I wonder about Murph and his 2 year contract for 8 million..
Jerry only has about 50 more homeruns to make up for. My excitement is muted because Garver’s high point in AB’s is 311. Very much a part-time player and an injury is pretty much a given. I do know he will be great for the clubhouse though and a mentor to young guys. Great attitude.
Nice move. And got him for two years is a good deal.
Garver has hit 31 dingers in 359 ABs with the Twins, so Seattle’s park might not diminish his power numbers as much as some would expect. However, he has never played in more than 102 games in a season and has had previous injury issues.
That was 2019 though…. Even Brett Gardner hit 28 that year.
Yankees should’ve given Gardy one more year IMO.
I agree. Not to mention he would’ve been better than what they trotted out there….
Oh my goodness someone other than the Dodgers signed a notable free agent! I didn’t know this was allowed by the corrupt league known as Major League Baseball.
I am just surprised that people are acting as if Garver is a notable FA.
One thing probably worth noting is that Cot’s is generally more accurate than Roster Resource. They had Seattle at just over 113m before this, you can add about 11.2m to that.
I like Garver, but it’s a risky move. I guess it’s worth a shot.
If Garver truly is the only addition, which is suggested in the article, then this organization has shown such a ridiculous concept of trying to be competitive. Garver, a decent DH addition, is HARDLY ENOUGH to help Seattle stay competitive! Ugh… this bleeping team!
The article stated that it may be the only addition THROUGH FREE AGENCY. Trades are more DiPoto’s thing, anyway.
I’ve been pretty pessimistic about this team this off season, but some reason I have a feeling Jerry has a move or three up his sleeve, like Arrozarena or something like that. Trying to have a sliver of hope…
damn… did CY only offer peanuts?
How hated is the Mariners front office that a trade for Mitch F***ing Garver gets so much play. Deservedly so. Sign Snell, make the trades for Arozarena and Ha-Song Kim and all of us will feel that at least we haven’t stepped back…once again. Otherwise, it’s 72 wins and we start all over.
Ayyee, a Christmas eve signing, have a jolley Christmas Mariners fans! I dig the signing.
Garver is a career 0 for 31 at Safeco Park.. was Mariners pitching that good or is Garver a bad fit for Safeco ??
BTW Garver is 0-33 at T-Mobile in his career
That’s kind of ominous!
Only room for improvement then you’re saying? Merry Xmas!
Weeeeeeeeee! We love our ballpark!! Everyone wants to play here, and everyone hits so well here, and travel from Seattle is not so bad!!! Oi vey.
The park is great. Just the area of town around it has unfortunately gotten out of hand and is not safe anymore. The luster has worn off the Emerald City…
It makes me sad to hear that and I hope it’s not true. Seattle is one of my favorite cities and I haven’t been there in so long.
I live north of there and it is all moving my direction. Downtown, in the SODO District, it has gotten terrible with homeless encampments, RVs lining every block from the stadium for blocks and blocks. Just not safe to take my family anymore. Very unfortunate.
I don’t disagree the RVs and encampments are a problem, but you’re painting a picture w RVs lining ‘every block from the stadium for blocks and blocks’ that just isn’t true. I would strongly disagree that going to the stadiums is unsafe for families, especially so on game days. Gardyparty, come see for yourself and make your own assessment. Still a great city and a great park to see a game with your family.
Seattle is absolutely a dump compared to what it used to be 20-30 years ago. However, that doesn’t make the city bad, it just makes comparable with other American cities now. All of the people that moved here because they thought it was so nice ruined it.
Well, that’s your opinion I guess, but when I’ve parked near 6th and Lander St, and walked for blocks and blocks north to the stadium, and saw blocks and blocks of RVs and junked cars lining the streets, its hard to argue that they aren’t there…Merry Xmas.
The reason nice cities on the West Coast are attracting this type of unwanted attention is because they are nice! It is a catch 22.
Ah yes it’s the people like me, who moved here. I was wondering whose fault it was. Shame on me for thinking it was Amazon or a completely ineffective city government, or maybe the fentanyl epidemic.
Yeah the further south you go it does get pretty bad. I work in Georgetown and it’s really bad there. I just don’t think its unsafe immediately around the stadium. Funny how they cleared it all out for the ASG. I’d recommend street parking in Beacon Hill (or whatever other light rail is most convenient w easy free parking) and riding train in. Merry Xmas to you too!
Garver’s a great bat and a solid catcher. Obviously, his injury history is extremely long at this point.
Not sure why people think Murphy is a good comp for Garver considering Murphy really struggles defensively behind the plate while Garver is solid enough defensively to be a starting catcher. Also, Garver’s significantly better and more reliable at the plate than Murphy who’s had his stats propped up by ridiculous BABIP over the past couple years of very small sample sizes.
Murphy doesn’t see a lot of game action because he’s a back up catcher you’d rather not start much. Garver doesn’t see a lot of game action because he’s hurt all the time, but he’s a good starting catcher if he’s not hurt.
2/$24MM was right about what I expected.
If he’s only there to DH its not a bad deal.
He’ll get 10-15 games at catcher I would think.
Which still makes him basically just a DH. Raleigh and Zavala should get the bulk of the action behind the dish.
Now the M’s need to figure out if Caballero is the everyday 2B or if they add another option. Same with Urias at 3B (though Rojas can rotate between the two)
He’s played a solid 1B too towards the end of his twins tenure
I think he’s good for 40 games a season as a Catcher if need be…you might suffer a little in pitch game plan calling but he looks fine behind the plate. EXcellent at blocking near miss wild pitches actually
I’m surprised the Twins didn’t put him at SS. Sometimes it seems like Baldelli has players draw straws to see where they’re going to be on the field…
Garver and Murphy are not the same player. Garver will DH most of the time.
He’s a little expensive in my book for a health risk DH. but it fits what Jerry’s looking for, more contact less swing and miss.
The best DH ever didn’t have tremendous power but few could match his contact skills.
Less swing and miss? How exactly does Garver fit that bill?
Look it up. Garver’s SO% is like 7% less than Murphy, and his BB% is 3% higher. Strikes out less, walks more. Significantly better chase rate too meaning he isn’t swinging at junk outside the zone. Jerry wants to remove strikeouts and this fits that bill.
Now the M’s sign Eddie Rosario
No thanks
Is Rosario really any better than Marlowe or Canzone though?
I think this team doesn’t have the budget for infield upgrades. Can they find a way to get one solid starting outfielder to add to the mix? If so, they might be counting on a number of things to break their way (Garver’s health and full-time performance, Urias and Rojas bounce back seasons, Ty France, the continued development of Miller and Woo, a shaky bullpen, etc) but they have a fighter’s chance of competing for the division.
JP
Julio
Garver
New OF
Cal
France
Urias
Canzonr/Marlowe/whomever
Rojas./Moore
Gross….
bottom 3 is ugly and good luck getting another middle of the order bat in this market.
I’d venture to say the pen will most likely be solid again this season barring TONS of injuries. So at least that element should break their way.
Cal wore down last two years. He’s also notably weaker batting RH. Cal’s also really important in lineup.. Neither Cal or Garver can play C every day. This signing allows Mariners to not play Cal at C every game in Sept. Pairing the two protects both players.. Really smart move.
My first non-Dodger I’ve gotten right in the contest.
Two year contract provides bridge to Ford (who’s a star (both on/off-field. Mariners core is Raliegh/JP/JRod + SPs.. Any move that protects that is smart.. Playing Cal daily at C similar to running a SP to much.. If you want him around longterm, gotta do this.. That said JD doesn’t like players speaking up. Have traded/released multiple leaders in clubhouse. Hoping this isn’t precursor to a Cal Raliegh deal (Bos/NYY/Miami)
Jerry wouldn’t dare trade Cal. I don’t really care much about all the other trades he’s made but moving Dumper would be a bridge too far for a lot of fans.
I don’t think it would be Jerry to blame. Ownership might consider it tho.
You’re probably 2 years away from trading Cal, but I think it’s inevitable at this point.
Vibes; Veritek. That’s all I’m saying
I would be totally fine with Cal being shipped out for a haul. Big Dumper is a Big Whiner.
Just because he spoke his mind at the end of the season? Or was there more?
I think he was just being impetuous. Young guy, emotional time. I understand why he did it. Just not the time or place. Or the right spokesman for it.
he apologized the next day for his comments.
Forced apology. He’s not actually sorry, nor should he be.
I agree with you, I wish he hadn’t said it publically. Just not a good look for the org but clearly the core guys and team leaders really want to win. JP said the same thing. I honestly think that was Jerry’s issue at the end of the season conference too. He was frustrated, probably already knew the budget was getting pulled out from under him, and then the 54%/fans should be thankful comment came out. In my opinion both guys being forced to answer questions John Stanton should be the one answering.
Sob, want another Jason Veritak to add to the list?
Players the Mariners traded away and became icons, only for another team.
@hoofhearted It would depend on the haul of course. But we do have a young phenom catcher about a year away named Harry Ford.
More prospects, the never ending rebuild. That is just what cash strap teams do.
Shouldn’t be Seattle’s problem given the market size, but it is. Ownership that isn’t wealthy enough to own a team. Shohei’s new contract is worth basically the same as John Stanton’s share of the M’s. It’s just incompetent leadership.
Padres already have Kyle Higashioka, for a Higashioka/Campusano platoon at backstop but I was hoping the Friars sign Mitch Garver for DH help. Friar Fans are hungry for more moves this winter. Garver would have been the perfect DH signing for the Padres.
Well… This was the last of the best case scenario FA signings.
Congrats to Garver.
Now Jerry should trade Gilbert for Max Muncy.
Maybe Jerry can coax Kyle Seager to come out of retirement to play 3B❓
If Cryin’ Kyle never steps in that clubhouse again, it will be too soon.
How about a Dylan Moore and a lower prospect for Kepler, I just think the asking price for arozarena is going to cost too much
Twins would laugh at that offer. Kepler won’t take a top prospect but it’s gonna be more than that
Good for Mitch Garver! A well-deserved pay day.
2023 or 2019 Mitch Garver would be superb
Signing Garver is not bad. They traded away a proven bat in Eugenio Suarez and didn’t get much in return. Seattle better keep adding if they want to compete.
This year Eugenio Suarez posted a wRC+ of 102, which brought Seattle’s team wRC+ down to 107.
Roster Resource currently lists Luis Urias as the starting third baseman for the Mariners. FanGraphs projects Urias with a 2024 wRC+ of 103 and Suarez with a 2024 wRC+ of 99.
The Mariners have more work to do this offseason but the loss of Suarez is manageable,
This does look like a trade is going to have to be made. unless they are going to do some bottom fishing like Galo, Santana, Calhoun, just the kind they want to stay clear of. like last year.
This is one of those moves that doesn’t dismiss some negativity. There appears to be no lack of promising moves to be had.
Smart move for a team that can limit his C innings but still can use him as the C2.
The makings of a championship caliber team this is not. It’s gonna cost $ and top level talent. Jerry doesn’t have the budget or the will to trade the pitchers it’s going to take.
Is trading pitching the right move though?
With the strong Pitching Sea has, speding big money on hitter isnt really necessary. Strong and deep SP + shut the door relievers works. They problems has been hitters 1-5 have been expected to carry the load. They need additions(opposite of: wong, Pollack,Winker, Fraizer) are hitters that will contribute. Polanco and Kepler would good solid additions by trade. FA like Duvall, Pham-not expensive, will contrubute, short deals. Or a major Defensive CF life: taylor and move Jrod to RF.
They need Garver to get close to 500 AB’s to get the production #s of a run producer. Mostly at DH and backing up Cal.
The most PA Garver has ever had in a season was 359 in 2019. In 7 seasons, he has 1,629 PA. He has been averaging 232 per season for his career. If he suddenly doubles his PA, then this will be a heck of a signing. If he gets his career average 232 PA it won’t look so good.
Another former Twin that gets his ring after leaving Minnesota.
I’m happy to see that after the Mariners bought Root Sports, along with its contracts with the Kraken and Trail Blazers, the team could find enough loose change in their couch to sign Garver.
Career SLG .483 and ops+ 123
Give this guy more ABs
They would have if he were healthy. If he could have put up those numbers for 7 healthy seasons, he would have Aaron Judge money!
Cal places 18th in Mvp, saw on baseball reference.
And no story about that???
No story on Cals 2 point 18th place finish, blasphemy!
Nothing on JP’s 5 point 17th place finish, blasphemy!
Will no one think of the children when they are coming right for us!
Go Cubs Go!!!
Another catcher? We just unnecessarily picked up Seby Zavala. Not to mention blocking the #2 prospect Harry Ford. Why overpay Garver to be a $12M dollar DH? Why doesn’t Dipoto do something useful like trade Ty France the 1st baseman who’s been a 1st baseman for the last two years. Could’ve put Kelenic at 1st if you didn’t trade him to a compatible contender that could give him playing time. Unlike the Braves that wants Kelenic to be a platoon at a time when he should earn a promotion of more playing time and also at 1st base. Brewers would have made more sense