Mitch Garver

Injured List Transactions: Sale, Jansen, Garver

By Anthony Franco | July 12, 2022 at 6:54pm CDT

The Red Sox reinstated Chris Sale to make his season debut tonight against the Rays, as had been reported last week. The veteran southpaw missed the first few months of the year after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib during Spring Training. It’s the third straight injury-impacted season for Sale, who missed all of 2020 and the bulk of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery. His return is a necessary welcome development for a Boston club that has five starting pitching options (Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Garrett Whitlock and Connor Seabold) on the 15-day injured list at the moment.

Boston optioned rookie right-hander Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding active roster move. The 23-year-old, who’s one of the best pitching prospects in the organization, was promoted last week and made his first two big league starts. Bello surrendered nine runs with seven strikeouts and six walks in eight innings, however, so the club will send him back to the minors for a bit. A 40-man roster vacancy for Sale was created yesterday when catcher Kevin Plawecki landed on the COVID-19 injured list, but Boston will need to make another move in that regard once Plawecki is cleared to return.

Updates on a pair of other notable injury moves:

The Blue Jays welcomed back catcher Danny Jansen from the 10-day injured list, installing him right into tonight’s starting lineup against the Phillies. The 27-year-old missed a month after fracturing a finger on his left hand, his second notable injury of the season. That and an April oblique strain have limited Jansen to just 19 games thus far, but he’s blasted seven home runs in limited action. In a corresponding active roster move, top prospect Gabriel Moreno was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo. A consensus top prospect, Moreno was promoted for his MLB debut shortly after Jansen went down. The 22-year-old only collected one extra-base hit (a double) in his first 60 trips to the plate as a big leaguer, though. With Jansen back and the Jays firmly in win-now mode, they’ll turn back to the veteran while giving Moreno regular reps in Triple-A. Across 36 games with the Bisons, Moreno is hitting .324/.380/.404.
Last night, the Rangers transferred catcher/designated hitter Mitch Garver from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list. That’s not a surprise, as he’ll miss the rest of the season after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the injured flexor tendon in his forearm. The move freed a spot on Texas’ 40-man roster, which Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests (on Twitter) is likely to go to reliever Jonathan Hernández. The right-hander hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2021, but he’s been on a rehab stint at Triple-A Round Rock for the past month and a half. Grant notes that his allotted rehab window wraps up tomorrow, meaning he’ll have to be reinstated from the 60-day IL or shut down from his rehab entirely. The former seems likelier, as manager Chris Woodward suggested Hernández should be back with the big league club soon.

Mitch Garver To Undergo Season-Ending Forearm Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | July 8, 2022 at 9:10pm CDT

Rangers catcher Mitch Garver will undergo surgery to repair his injured flexor tendon on Monday morning, reports Levi Weaver of The Athletic. This surgery will wipe out the remainder of his season.

The fact that Garver requires the surgery isn’t shocking, as the issue has been known for some time. He has been playing through the injury, able to hit but not throw. He’s played exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter over the past couple months, with his last appearance behind the dish coming on May 8.

Garver spoke to reporters about the situation a few weeks ago, noting that the surgery was inevitable. The only question was about the timing. Since the estimated recovery time for the surgery is 7-8 months, Garver and the Rangers had to decide on one of two courses of action. In one scenario, Garver would play out the remainder of the season hurt and then get surgery in the offseason. That would mean missing part of the 2023 campaign while recuperating. The second course of action would mean getting surgery sooner, in order to hopefully be fully healthy before next season. It seems they have now decided on the latter option.

This is surely a disappointing turn of events for the Rangers, who acquired Garver from the Twins in the offseason trade that sent Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins (who later traded him to the Yankees). Despite the injury, Garver has still been able to hit at an above-average rate, slashing .212/.292/.419 coming into tonight’s game. That amounts to a wRC+ of 103, or 3% above league average, but it’s a far cry from the .256/.358/.517 he put up last year, producing a 137 wRC+. He’ll now miss the final few months of the season while rehabbing.

The lack of Garver shouldn’t totally decimate the Rangers’ season, as Garver’s absence has been filled by the breakout season of Jonah Heim. Acquired from the A’s in the trade that sent Elvis Andrus to Oakland, Heim is hitting .257/.312/.480 on the year for a wRC+ of 125. When combined with his defensive contributions, he’s already produced 1.9 fWAR on the year.

Both Garver and Heim are still under team control next year, giving the club a powerful two-headed catching duo once Garver is healthy. Garver hits right-handed and Heim is a switch-hitter, making it possible that both of them get regular playing time in a platoon, with each of them also getting occasional turns as the designated hitter. Garver will be in his final season of control, making him a potential trade candidate in the offseason, with the club then turning the job over to Heim going forward. However, the uncertainty around Garver’s health will be an obstacle to the Rangers finding a deal to their liking.

Texas Notes: No-Hitter, Pena, McCullers, Duran, Hearn, Garver

By Mark Polishuk | June 25, 2022 at 7:59pm CDT

Cristian Javier, Hector Neris, and Ryan Pressly combined for the 14th no-hitter in Astros history, as Houston earned a 3-0 win over the Yankees today in the Bronx. Javier handled much of the work over seven innings, with Neris and Pressly each contributing an inning of hitless pitching to stifle the lineup of the league-leading Yankees. It was the first time in over 19 years that New York had been no-hit, also at hands of the Astros — six Houston pitchers blanked the Yankees on June 11, 2003.

More from both the Astros and Rangers, as we run down baseball news from the Lone Star State….

Jeremy Pena is likely to return to Houston’s lineup on Sunday, as the rookie shortstop took batting practice today. Left thumb discomfort sent Pena to the 10-day injured list on June 15, though an MRI didn’t reveal any damage. It thankfully looks like only a minor injury for Pena, and he’ll now get to resume his outstanding rookie season. Making his MLB debut earlier this year, Pena has hit .277/.333/.471 with nine homers over his first 211 plate appearances, though his hot bat had been cooling off in the two weeks prior to his IL stint.
Lance McCullers Jr. was the pitcher throwing to Pena, with McCullers tossing around 20 pitches during the overall BP session. McCullers told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that his repertoire included changeups, sinkers, and a slider, and he was throwing as hard as 93mph. Since suffering a flexor tendon strain during last year’s postseason and then a rehab setback in January, McCullers has been slowly working his way back, and is still likely a month or so away from a minor league rehab assignment.
After today’s 3-2 win over the Nationals, the Rangers optioned left-hander Taylor Hearn and infielder Ezequiel Duran to Triple-A. Corresponding moves will be made prior to tomorrow’s game. Hearn was the bulk pitcher in today’s bullpen game, allowing only two walks over four scoreless innings, though it was a rare quality outing an otherwise rough season for the southpaw. Even with today’s game on his ledger, Hearn still has a 5.86 ERA over 63 innings, starting 13 of his 14 games. Texas called Duran up to the majors for his MLB debut earlier this month, and the top-100 prospect hit .258/.281/.435 with two home runs over 64 PA. Duran had been seeing most of the playing time at third base, but with Josh Smith now back from the IL, Duran will continue his development with an everyday role at Triple-A rather than part-time duty in the Show.
Mitch Garver went 0-for-2 with a walk against the Nats today, dropping the veteran’s slash line to .201/.288/.383 for the season, over 170 PA. Garver has been trying to play through a damaged flexor tendon in his throwing forearm, but he told reporters (including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News) that he would make a decision by the All-Star break whether or not to undergo season-ending surgery. With a 7-8 month recovery time required for the surgery, Garver would miss little to none of Spring Training by getting the procedure relatively soon. It is possible Garver could instead try to rehab the forearm problem without surgery, but Grant writes “that route is more uncertain” in terms of a recovery timeline or what it might mean for Garver’s 2023 season. Since suffering the flexor injury, Garver hasn’t been able to play catcher, so the Rangers have been limiting him to DH or pinch-hitting duty.

Rangers Select Meibrys Viloria, Option Sam Huff

By Anthony Franco | June 21, 2022 at 4:20pm CDT

The Rangers shuffled their backup catcher situation this evening, selecting Meibrys Viloria onto the MLB club and optioning Sam Huff to Triple-A Round Rock. Texas also reinstated infielder Josh Smith from the 10-day injured list, brought back Mitch Garver from the COVID-19 IL, and returned Zach Reks and Jesús Tinoco to Round Rock. (Tinoco will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, as he’d been added to the MLB team as a designated COVID substitute). To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Viloria, outfielder Eli White has moved from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Viloria is headed to the big leagues for the first time as a member of the Texas organization. He played in 67 games with the Royals between 2018-20, hitting .215/.267/.287. Kansas City outrighted him off the 40-man roster last April, and he elected free agency at the end of the season after spending the entire year in the upper minors. Viloria latched on with the Rangers on a non-roster pact just before the lockout.

The lefty-hitting backstop has spent the entire season with Round Rock. He’s posted an eye-opening .344/.471/.512 line through 155 plate appearances to earn his way back to the majors. Those results have been propped up by an unsustainable .444 batting average on balls in play, but he’s also walked at a massive 17.4% clip. Viloria’s still just 25 years old and was a fairly well-regarded prospect during his time in the Royals’ system, so perhaps he’ll be able to carry some of that form over against big league arms. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Rangers can freely move him between Arlington and Round Rock now that he’s on the 40-man roster.

Huff heads back to Triple-A, where he’s posted a .260/.349/.575 line in 19 games. He’s hit .282/.320/.352 in 27 MLB contests this year, but he’s collected only three extra-base hits and is striking out at a 28% clip. Huff has run into a rough patch since the calendar flipped to June, while first baseman Nathaniel Lowe has caught fire. Between Jonah Heim at catcher, Lowe at first base and Garver’s return at designated hitter, there wasn’t going to be room in the lineup for Huff most days.

Smith missed nearly three weeks battling a shoulder sprain. The rookie steps in at third base tonight, where he’s likely to split time with fellow first-year player (and former Yankees prospect) Ezequiel Durán. Garver and starter Glenn Otto both went on the COVID list two weeks ago; Garver steps back into the MLB lineup, while Otto is headed to Round Rock for what figures to be a brief rehab stint before being activated.

White, meanwhile, suffered a fracture in his right wrist last week. He underwent surgery and is unlikely to begin any baseball activities before the start of August, meaning he’ll miss at least a couple months.

Rangers Place Glenn Otto, Mitch Garver On COVID IL

By Darragh McDonald | June 10, 2022 at 7:05pm CDT

The Rangers announced a series of roster moves today, with right-hander Glenn Otto and catcher Mitch Garver heading to the COVID-related injured list. Infielder Andy Ibanez was also optioned to Triple-A. Brad Miller has been reinstated from the injured list to take one of the open roster spots, while right-handers Tyson Miller and Jesus Tinoco have been added as “replacement players”.

The Rangers now have three players on the COVID list, as Brett Martin was sent there a few days ago. The timing is particularly unfortunate for the Rangers, as Otto was scheduled to start tonight’s contest. Instead, Matt Bush will be taking the ball in what will be an emergency bullpen game.

It’s unclear if the players have tested positive or instead have landed on the shelf due to a close contact or the presence of symptoms. Without a positive test, there’s no minimum stay on the IL. But in the case of a positive test, MLB’s 2022 health regulations stipulate a 10-day absence, though a pair of negative PCR tests and approval from a trio of medical professionals (team doctor, league-appointed doctor, MLBPA-appointed doctor) can override that 10-day requirement. The club is starting a stretch of playing ten days in a row, meaning they may need to think about Otto’s next turn through the rotation as well.

The fact that Miller and Tinoco have been announced as “replacement players” is significant. Under the 2022 health and safety protocols, commissioner Rob Manfred has sole discretion to decide whether a team’s COVID situation is significant enough to warrant such a designation. It seems that he has done so in this case. That means that Miller and Tinoco can be removed from the team’s 40-man roster at a later date without being subject to waivers.

For Garver, this will be another speed bump in a season that has had a couple of them. After going on the injured list due to a flexor strain, he returned in late May but was acting exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter. It was reported a couple of weeks ago that, due to the injury limited Garver’s throwing ability, the club intended to continue putting his bat in the lineup but didn’t plan on letting him resume catching duties anytime soon, possibly for the entire season. Now on the IL, he won’t even be able to take on that limited role for the time being.

No Immediate Plans For Mitch Garver To Return To Catcher

By Anthony Franco | May 26, 2022 at 2:29pm CDT

Two weeks ago, the Rangers placed catcher Mitch Garver on the 10-day injured list with a flexor sprain in his throwing forearm. That proved a minimal stay, as he was back on the roster in short order, but he’s not likely to return behind the dish any time soon.

Garver has worked exclusively as a designated hitter in the six games since returning from the IL, and he tells Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News he’s expecting to remain in the bat-only role for the time being. The organization doesn’t have plans for Garver to begin an imminent throwing program, and Grant suggests it’s possible the 31-year-old could be limited to DH or first base for the entire season. That’s not definitive, but in any event, it seems unlikely we’ll see Garver donning the tools of ignorance anytime soon.

Texas manager Chris Woodward has nevertheless penciled him into the lineup for all six games since his return from the IL. That’s a testament to his offensive productivity, particularly from a power perspective. Garver is only hitting .220 with a .298 on-base percentage, but he’s popped six home runs and a trio of doubles to post a .430 slugging percentage that’s well north of the .382 league mark. He’s shown no ill effects of the injury offensively, hitting three homers within the last week.

When the Rangers acquired Garver from the Twins for shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa over the offseason, they no doubt envisioned him as their primary catcher. That he’s only managed 14 starts behind the plate and won’t be able to get back imminently is a bit disappointing, but the blow has been softened by excellent starts from their other backstops.

Jonah Heim, acquired from the A’s last February in the Khris Davis — Elvis Andrus swap, has made a team-leading 23 starts at catcher. The 26-year-old is sporting an excellent .270/.356/.494 line, collecting five homers of his own. More importantly, Heim has more than doubled his walk rate relative to last season while slicing his strikeouts by more than five percentage points. After hitting .196/.239/.358 last season, the 26-year-old looks to have made strides from a plate discipline and power perspective. He probably won’t keep hitting at this pace, but he’s earned the opportunity to continue playing regularly.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Sam Huff is up as Heim’s backup after hitting .260/.349/.575 in 19 games with Triple-A Round Rock. Huff only has 18 games of MLB experience under his belt, but he’s been regarded as one of the better prospects in the system for a while. Evaluators have long raved about his right-handed power potential, although he’s faced some questions about his receiving ability and lofty strikeout totals in the minor leagues.

While a Heim — Huff pairing isn’t the most proven group, there’s obvious upside with both players. Despite an active offseason, Texas is still using 2022 as primarily an evaluative season with an eye towards more earnest contention next year and beyond. They’ll welcome the opportunity to get younger players like Heim and Huff into the lineup so long as both are performing well, but Garver’s (at least immediate) move down the defensive spectrum will necessarily come at the expense of a few others.

As Grant covers in a second piece, that could mean fewer starts for Nathaniel Lowe and Andy Ibáñez, in particular. Lowe has been the team’s primary first baseman after a solid .264/.357/.415 showing last season. He’s not off to a good start, though, with just two homers and a .245/.300/.317 line through 150 trips to the plate. The left-handed hitting Lowe has made virtually zero impact from a power perspective, and he’s seen his walk rate fall as he’s gotten more aggressive. Huff got the start at first base against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers last night, and Grant suggests he could see more time there — particularly against southpaws.

“I still believe Nate Lowe is an everyday talent,” Woodward told reporters yesterday. “He just hasn’t performed the way we’ve [expected]. I’ve been really honest with all of our guys about that. I think it’s really important to set a standard there. When you aren’t performing and somebody else is, I have a responsibility to the team.”

With Garver commanding everyday reps at DH, Lowe’s only real path to playing time is at first base. Ibáñez’s ability to play third base and the corner outfield could afford him a bit more run, but he’s off to an even worse start at the plate. Through 107 plate appearances, Ibáñez is hitting just .180/.234/.230. Among 244 hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, only four have been less productive offensively by measure of wRC+. Woodward also expressed faith in Ibáñez’s ability to turn things around, but he’ll no doubt need to start performing better if he’s to hang onto his near-regular role.

Rangers Option Nick Solak, Release Matt Carpenter

By Anthony Franco | May 19, 2022 at 4:10pm CDT

The Rangers announced this afternoon that catcher Mitch Garver is returning from the 10-day injured list. To open space on the active roster, corner outfielder Nick Solak has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock. Texas also announced that veteran infielder Matt Carpenter has been released from his minor league contract, making him a free agent.

Garver returns after a minimal IL stint because of a muscle strain in his forearm. Texas acquired the power-hitting backstop in a key offseason deal with the Twins, and he’s thus far appeared in 22 games with his new team. Garver is off to a relatively slow start, hitting .205/.292/.346 with a trio of homers in 89 trips to the plate. Backup catcher Jonah Heim has been excellent all season, though, and he and Garver figure to share a fair bit of time behind the dish and at designated hitter.

Solak is a former second-round pick and highly-regarded prospect. Texas acquired him from the Rays in July 2019 for reliever Pete Fairbanks, hoping they’d landed their long-term second baseman. The right-handed hitter had put up excellent numbers in the Yankees and Rays farm systems before the deal, which continued down the stretch at Texas’ top affiliate. Solak made his MLB debut late that season and hit .293/.393/.491 through his first 33 games, a continuation of the offensive upside he’d shown in the minors.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t managed to build off that early success. Solak didn’t hit for much power during the shortened 2020 season, and he stumbled to a .242/.314/.362 line over a personal-high 511 plate appearances last year. He also rated poorly defensively at the keystone, echoing concerns about his glovework that have persisted since his days as a prospect. After Texas signed a new double-play tandem of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, they bumped Solak off the dirt entirely. He’s played exclusively left field and designated hitter to this point in 2022.

Falling further down the defensive spectrum only raises the pressure on the 27-year-old to hit. He got off to a strong start this year, primarily on the short side of a platoon. He hasn’t performed in May, however, and Texas will now send him back to the minors for more regular run. Through his first 75 plate appearances (more than half of which have come against left-handed pitching), Solak owns a .209/.293/.313 line.

Depending on how long he’s in the minors, the optional assignment could have an impact on Solak’s service trajectory. He’s on pace to hit free agency after the 2025 season, having entered the season with two years and 28 days of service time. Spending more than a month in the minors would jeopardize his ability to reach the three-year threshold after this season, although Solak will eventually need to perform better for the Rangers to tender him contracts throughout his arbitration years anyhow. With a .253/.327/.372 career line and currently squeezed off the active roster, Solak may find himself as a change-of-scenery candidate over the next couple months.

Carpenter, meanwhile, signed a non-roster deal during Spring Training. It marked a homecoming for the former TCU star, who had previously spent his entire career with the Cardinals. A three-time All-Star and two-time top ten finisher in MVP balloting in St. Louis, Carpenter saw his production turn sharply downwards by 2019. He had significant struggles in both 2020-21 and didn’t land an MLB roster spot after the Cards bought him out last fall.

The 36-year-old spoke over the offseason about the necessity to overhaul his hitting mechanics to rediscover his production at the plate. The early results have been encouraging, as Carpenter hit .275/.379/.613 and popped six homers in 21 games for Round Rock. Texas didn’t feel they had big league at-bats to offer, however, and the sides mutually agreed to part ways, relays Levi Weaver of the Athletic. It stands to reason there’ll be other teams willing to offer Carpenter a new minor league deal after his strong start for the Express.

Rangers To Place Mitch Garver On IL, Recall Sam Huff

By James Hicks and Sean Bavazzano | May 10, 2022 at 4:34pm CDT

The Rangers will place catcher Mitch Garver on the 10-day IL with a sprained flexor tendon, reports Kennedi Landry of MLB.com (Twitter link). They’ll recall catcher catcher Sam Huff from Triple-A Round Rock to take his place on the active roster.

It’s a tough break for the Rangers, as Garver was one of the team’s marquee acquisitions this winter in the deal that sent Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins for a spell. Appearing in 22 of his team’s games, the 31-year-old Garver has yet to find a groove offensively, hitting just .205/.292/.346 (92 OPS+) with a trio of home runs.

The one-time Silver Slugger winner will need to do better than that when he returns, though he’s no stranger to rebounding from injuries, as he’s played in more than 100 games just once during his Major League career. While Garver’s hard-hit numbers are down, both his walk and strikeout rates compare favorably to his career numbers and the league average, perhaps portending improved performance when he returns from the IL.

Sam Huff returns to the big league team for the second time this season, following a one-game cameo at the end of April. Huff, a former top-100 prospect, was in the midst of another fine season in the minors, batting .260/.349/.575 with 7 home runs through 19 Triple-A games. He’ll slot in as the team’s number two catcher for the time being, behind the hot-hitting Jonah Heim, and will likely factor into the team’s DH mix as well.

AL Central Notes: Twins, IKF, Tigers, Anderson, Boyd, White Sox

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2022 at 5:44pm CDT

The Twins and Rangers combined on one of the most interesting early moves of the post-lockout period, agreeing to a trade earlier today that will see Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez head to Minnesota, while catcher Mitch Garver was dealt to Texas. Speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) about the deal, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the Twins were first in touch about Kiner-Falefa before the lockout, and Garver wasn’t initially part of trade talks until it became that such a notable price was necessary to pry Kiner-Falefa away from the Rangers.

While the presence of Ryan Jeffers ultimately made Garver expendable, Minnesota now has a new everyday shortstop, and a player who has generally looked like one of the league’s better defensive players no matter where Texas lined him up on the diamond. Kiner-Falefa said he is happy to be getting an opportunity to start at what he considers his natural position of shortstop, and his addition means that the Twins can now keep Jorge Polanco at second base.

Twins Acquire Isiah Kiner-Falefa For Mitch Garver

By Darragh McDonald | March 12, 2022 at 11:35am CDT

The Twins and Rangers are in agreement on a deal that will send infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to Minnesota, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Kiner-Falefa and a prospect will head to Minnesota in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Pitcher Ronny Henriquez is the prospect heading to Minnesota in the deal, per Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press.

For the Rangers, this is yet another headline-grabbing move in what has been a very busy offseason for the club. Prior to the lockout, they threw around big money to add various players, with the two biggest names being shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien. The addition of those two infielders, along with the impending arrival of prospect Josh Jung, led to immediate speculation that Kiner-Falefa could be a trade candidate. But when Jung underwent shoulder surgery last month, that seemed to swing the pendulum towards Texas keeping Kiner-Falefa as their everyday third baseman. However, that has now proven not to be the case, as he is headed for Minnesota.

The Twins had Andrelton Simmons as their primary shortstop last year. Despite showing the defensive skills he has long been known for, Simmons had a dismal year at the plate, hitting .223/.283/.274, wRC+ of 56. Yesterday, he signed with the Cubs for a modest $4MM salary, showing that the Twins weren’t terribly motivated to bring him back into the fold. With Kiner-Falefa, they’ve brought in a player with a similar profile to Simmons, but more reasons to be optimistic about his future performance. Like Simmons, Kiner-Falefa is a glove-first player, winning a Gold Glove in 2020 and finishing third among MLB shortstops in the Fielding Bible’s voting this past season. His bat has been below average thus far in his career, having never put up a wRC+ higher than 94. However, he’s still relatively young, turning 27 later this month, compared to the 32-year-old Simmons. He also hit .271/.312/.357 last year for a wRC+ of 85, not great numbers but certainly better than what Simmons provided. He’s also projected for an arbitration salary of $4.9MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and comes with an extra year of control beyond that.

But in order to make that solid addition to their infield, the Twins have had to send a valuable player the other way. Garver had a tremendous breakout season in 2019, hitting .273/.365/.630, wRC+ of 155. That would be exceptional production for any player but was especially impressive for a catcher. Injuries limited him to just 23 games of anemic production in the shortened 2020 season, but he bounced back well last year. Despite still dealing with injuries and only playing 68 games, his 2021 line was .256/.358/.517, wRC+ of 137. Last year, the Rangers split the catching duties almost evenly between Jose Trevino and Jonah Heim, who put up wRC+ tallies of 60 and 64, respectively. Garver is capable of producing at a much higher rate, but comes with concerns given the injuries of the past few years, making him a high-risk, high-reward option for Texas. He won’t be a huge risk from a financial standpoint, however, as he’s projected for an arbitration salary of $3.1MM this year, with another year of control remaining after that.

The reason the Twins could afford to part with such a talented catcher as Garver was the emergence of Ryan Jeffers. Making his MLB debut in 2020, he played 26 games and hit .273/.355/.436, wRC+ of 120. In 2021, he got off to a rough start, hitting .147/.216/.176 before getting demoted at the end of April. After showing signs of improvement in Triple-A, he was recalled in June and hit .206/.277/.433 the rest of the way, good enough for a wRC+ of 92. Although that’s clearly a drop-off from Garver’s numbers, Jeffers is turning 25 years old in June and comes with five remaining years of control. The Twins clearly felt that it was worth taking the chance on the younger player as their regular catcher in order to upgrade their infield.

Of course, that’s not all the Twins added, as they also brought Ronny Henriquez over in the deal. The 21-year-old right-hander split last season between High-A and Double-A, making 16 starts in 21 total games. In 93 2/3 innings, his 4.71 ERA wasn’t especially impressive, but the Twins were surely intrigued by his 27.1% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate, both of those being better than average. The club certainly needs arms after losing Jose Berrios to trade, Kenta Maeda to injury and Michael Pineda to free agency. Henriquez likely won’t provide immediate help in that regard, given that he’s never pitched above Double-A, but he could potentially be a factor later in the season.

Circling back to the Rangers, with Kiner-Falefa out of the picture and Jung on the shelf for around six months, they will have to decide what do about third base for this season. In-house options include Andy Ibanez, Nick Solak, Yonny Hernandez and Sherten Apostel. They could also turn their attention towards outside addition, although a tweet from Jeff Wilson casts doubt about a pursuit of Kris Bryant.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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