The Seattle Mariners made an interesting just two days before their spring training opener by bringing back catcher Mitch Garver on a minor league contract.

For two years, Garver held the distinction of owning the largest contract for a free-agent position player since president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto joined the Mariners front office in 2015. That record was broken this offseason when first baseman Josh Naylor signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal.

Garver signed a two-year, $24 million contract ahead of the 2024 season coming off a World Series win with the Texas Rangers. He served as the team's backup catcher for two years behind Cal Raleigh. He also got significant time at designated hitter.

In his two seasons in the Pacific Northwest, Garver slashed .187/.290/.341 with a .632 OPS and hit 22 doubles, a triple and 24 home runs with 81 RBIs in 201 games.

The Mariners declined their half of a mutual option for a third season, making Garver a free agent. The anticipation going into the offseason was that top 100 catching prospect Harry Ford would take over backup duties. Instead, Ford was traded to the Washington Nationals in return for high-leverage left-handed reliever Jose Ferrer.

In his stead, Seattle signed backup catcher Andrew Knizner to a one-year deal and acquired catcher Jhonny Pereda in a trade with the Minnesota Twins.

Seattle apparently wasn't content with the two veterans being the only contenders to win the backup catcher job, which led to the reunion with Garver.

According to Garver in a recent appearance on the Foul Territory podcast, Raleigh reached out to him to encourage the former's return to the Pacific Northwest.

"There was never any conversation about retirement," Garver said on the podcast. "I feel more prepared to play now than I have in years. Physically, mentally, I'm ready to go. It was just a strange offseason. It was quiet. There are still players out there that are really, really good major league players. There's no offers, there's no talk about signing any kind of deal. I was fortunate enough to have Cal reach out to me. He said 'Hey, just give the Mariners a call. See what happens.' We did that and within 24 hours we had it worked out."

There's still not a guarantee that Garver will return to his backup catcher duties. But it would make sense if that's the direction the Mariners opt for.

Garver has developed a familiarity with the team's starting rotation of Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller. He caught for all five of them in his two seasons with Seattle. He also has familiarity with the majority of the Mariners' bullpen and several backup starting pitchers, including Emerson Hancock.

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