In the lead up to spring training, it was looking like the Seattle Mariners would have a new backup catcher in 2026. But that changed with an assist from Cal Raleigh.
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Raleigh got in touch with Mitch Garver, the Mariners’ 2025 backup who was still awaiting a chance to join a team, and told him he should get in contact with the M’s. Garver reached out to general manager Justin Hollander and within 24 hours returned to the club on a minor league deal.
On Sunday, Mariners insider Shannon Drayer reported the team is breaking camp with Garver as its backup catcher.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi thinks the Mariners made the right decision by rolling with Garver as their backup to Raleigh. He explained why when he joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Monday.
“He’s a pro. He’s been a World Series champion before, and he does have that respect of the people around him,” Morosi said.
The 35-year-old Garver spent the past two seasons with Seattle after signing a two-year, $24 million deal that was the largest contract given out to a free-agent position player under president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto. He was brought in to be the team’s full-time designated hitter, but had a disappointing start to his Mariners career while hitting .172 with a .627 OPS in 114 games in 2024. In 2025, Garver’s role fully shifted to being a backup catcher and platoon bat against left-handers.
“It was probably not the right amount of pressure for him in that circumstance,” Morosi said of Garver’s first season in Seattle. “But I think as you look back (at 2025) and during the course of the postseason in that (new) role, he actually had some pretty productive at-bats.”
Morosi sees the situation Garver is in now as a better than one than when he signed with the team before the 2024 season.
“Part of the reason why it’ll be different is I think he himself is in a different headspace, and it seems like the fans are also more welcoming,” Morosi said. “They also realize that, first of all, he helped them last October. And second of all, he earned this spot. He clearly earned his spot with the way that he played.”
Garver factors in to what Morosi called one of the major questions for manager Dan Wilson and is staff, which is how much of a workload Raleigh will get behind the plate over the course of the season.
Raleigh made 119 starts at catcher and caught 1,072 innings during the regular season in 2025. He also started all 12 games at catcher and caught every inning during Seattle’s postseason run, which included a 15-inning marathon in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. In addition to the innings behind the plate in 2025, Raleigh had to be ready early to play in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
“I think managing Cal’s workload and maybe getting some more spots for Garver will be one of the major choices that Dan Wilson is faced with during the course of the season,” Morosi said.
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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