Earlier this offseason, the Seattle Mariners shored up the back-end of the bullpen by acquiring left-handed reliever Jose Ferrer from the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals got catcher and top 100 catcher Harry Ford in return for Ferrer. The deal left the Mariners without a backup for All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh for 2026.

On Dec. 16, Seattle found Raleigh's backup.

The Mariners signed veteran backstop Andrew Knizner to a one-year major league deal, according to a report from the Seattle Times' Adam Jude.

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The deal comes days after reports that the two sides were nearing a deal.

Knizner has spent part of seven seasons in the major leagues from 2019-present. He made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals and was with the franchise through 2023. He played 2024 with the Texas Rangers and this past season with the San Francisco Giants.

In his seven seasons, Knizner scored 101 runs in 326 games and hit 33 doubles, a triple and 19 home runs with 90 RBIs. He has a career slash line of .211/.281/.316 with a .597 OPS.

In '25 with the Giants, Knizner scored 12 times in 33 games and hit a double, a triple and a homer with five RBIs and slashed .221/.299/.299 with a .598 OPS.

Knizner has been a solid defensive catcher the last two seasons. With Texas and San Francisco, he's caught 473 innings and hasn't allowed a passed ball.

In '24, Knizner had two framing runs and in '25, he had one, according to Baseball Savant. Knizner hadn't had a framing mark above the negatives before '24 according to Baseball Savant.

Mitch Garver, currently a free agent, has been Seattle's backup for the last two seasons. Blake Hunt, who spent all of '25 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, also elected free agency.

According to a report from Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish, the Mariners were looking for a minor league and a major league catcher after the Ferrer trade.

With Knizner now signed, Seattle will be looking for a minor league catcher. Divish reported the team will likely sign a veteran to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

The Mariners have another notable catching prospect in Luke Stevenson, who was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Stevenson is ranked as the team's ninth-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline and is projected to make his major league debut in 2028.

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