Garver beats out Knizner, will serve as Mariners' backup catcher (source)

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mitch Garver, who was a late addition to Mariners camp on a Minor League deal and as a non-roster invite, has won the backup catcher job, a source familiar with the club’s thinking told MLB.com on Sunday morning.

Garver had been up against fellow veteran Andrew Knizner, who is expected to be designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot when the club finalizes its Opening Day roster. That won’t come until Wednesday at the earliest, and potentially not until the morning of the regular-season opener on Thursday, when the 26-man roster is actually due.

Knizner signed a one-year, $1 million Major League contract on Dec. 16 that is fully guaranteed. And because he has more than five years of service time, he could decline an outright to Triple-A Tacoma if he clears waivers after being DFA’d. If any team claimed him, that club would then be on the hook for his salary.

Players who have accrued between three and five years of service would have to accept the outright in order to earn that their salary, but Knizner can essentially walk. And that's what the club anticipates, a source said.

Garver, meanwhile, will earn $2.25 million this season, after agreeing to a split Minors contract that would make his Major League salary fully guaranteed if he plays just one day in the big leagues in 2026.

“That's been a spot that's obviously made for a difficult decision too,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Sunday’s Cactus League game at the White Sox. “But I think the driving factor is what makes us better. And I think Garv has had a great camp.”

Entering his age-35 season and with eight-plus years of service, Garver can also decline an assignment to the Minors at any point this season -- if say, the Mariners eventually prefer to go with another backup to Cal Raleigh later on.

While the Mariners would essentially be eating the $1 million to Knizner, if he indeed declines an outright, their logic in doing so could be a more holistic look at what they’re paying for the role.

Garver, Seattle's incumbent backup catcher, earned $12.5 million last season in the final year of a two-year, $24 million free-agent deal he signed in the 2023-24 offseason. In that regard, $3.25 million combined between his ‘26 figure and Knizner’s is much smaller.

Context is also key, as Garver’s previous deal was agreed to on the heels of him helping Texas win the 2023 World Series title, and with the intent of him being a full-time designated hitter in Seattle. It was also, at the time, the largest free-agent contract for a hitter under president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who took over during the 2015-16 offseason.

However, the everyday DH role didn’t work out during Garver’s first season with the Mariners, and he was eventually shifted into the backup catcher role by that year’s Trade Deadline. But the latter gig was one he settled into nicely, thanks to his veteran experience and rapport with the Mariners’ pitching staff -- which ultimately played the biggest factor in bringing him back for ‘26.

It was actually Raleigh who reached out to Garver the week of Feb. 16, encouraging him to contact Seattle’s front office to see if there was an opportunity to return. And within 48 hours of that call, Garver had agreed to his Minors deal and was in Arizona undergoing a physical.

“Continue to feed him the best information possible,” Garver said of Raleigh on Sunday. “Coming to me in the middle of a game and ask me, 'What do you got? What do we do here? These guys look like they're doing so and so.' I like to bounce ideas off him, keep the conversation going, because you can have the perfect game plan, but sometimes it's going to [get messed up] no matter what. So it's good to be able to have that audible adjustability from a different pair of eyes.”

Garver had his first of three opt-out-eligible dates on Saturday but remained in camp -- which hinted at the direction that the Mariners were leaning. He hasn’t exactly wowed at the plate, going 4-for-22 (.182) with one double, three walks and 11 strikeouts. But neither had Knizner, who’s 5-for-29 (.172).

It’s also worth noting that the backup catcher role in Seattle will see less playing time than most across the sport, as Raleigh logged 1,072 innings behind the plate last season (third most in MLB). He’s also coming off a historic 60-homer season, and the Mariners are going to want his bat in the lineup every day, even if at DH.

Yet for a team that, on paper, looks like the favorite in the American League West, it’s clear that they are willing to spend a little more -- even if at a sunk cost -- to assemble what they believe will be its best roster. And that’s why the Mariners are going with Garver.