Mitch Garver Catches First Rangers Game

Mitch Garver made his first Spring Training start at catcher for the Rangers.

Mitch Garver waited eight months for his first game behind the plate on Monday when the Texas Rangers faced the Cincinnati Reds.

A lot has changed since he had surgery to repair his right flexor tendon last July.

Pitch clock. Four new starting pitchers. Jonah Heim has a clearer hold on the starting catching role.

Thank goodness for Martín Pérez, Monday’s starter. It was the one consistent thing from last year.

“It was easy catching Martín, I’ve done that before,” Garver said. “But just the whole thing of getting back in game speed.”

Garver had been the designated hitter in prior games. But Monday was his first game behind the plate since his injury early last season. He tried to play through it as just a DH, but his bat never came around before he opted for surgery so he could be ready for this season.

There’s plenty to get used to, but Garver felt prepared for everything that goes on behind the plate now.

“It’s something that our staff has really prepared us for, just getting ahead of the game and understanding the speed of it,” Garver said. “We were working on it in bullpens before we got here. So I think everybody is adapting.”

Pérez made that adjustment easier. Not only did he catch Perez last year, but he also caught for Pérez when the pair were in Minnesota.

He got to see how the pitch clock can work from both sides in that game.

While behind the plate, he and Perez were able to go aggressively at a hitter and get a strike called on him for a pitch clock violation (the batter must be set with eight seconds left).

But while in the box as a hitter, Garver was quick-pitched by a Reds pitcher.

“My last trip out there, the pitcher got down to one second and he quick-pitched me, so that’s part of the adjustment, too,” Garver said. “I’m looking at the clock but I’m also focused on the pitcher.”

Garver hit a home run on Monday, too. But he said getting behind the plate and catching was the more important part of that game.

“Getting the gear on, making the throws to second base, getting up and down each inning,” Garver said. “I would go down to the dugout and sit down and cool off for a little bit and then get back up, just to see how the elbow felt. It took a few throws to get it back warmed up, but I think that’s all normal.”

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