Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Mitch Garver

Mitch Garver's season was derailed by an injury that required surgery in July, sapping the Rangers of depth at catcher.

InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the players on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

C Mitch Garver

Statistics for 2022: Garver batted .207/.298/.404/.702 in 54 games (39-for-188), scoring 23 runs. He had 76 total bases, seven doubles, no triples, 10 home runs and 24 RBI. He walked 23 times and struck out 53 times. He spent just 14 of his 54 games at catcher, where he was charged with one error. His other 36 games were at designated hitter.

Season Transactions: The Rangers acquired Garver in a trade on March 12 from the Minnesota Twins, giving up infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitcher Ronny Henriquez. Garver went on the 10-day injured list on May 10 with a Right forearm flexor muscle strain. He was called up from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Round Rock on May 19. He went back on the injured list on June 10, began a rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco on June 19 and returned to the Rangers on June 21. On July 11 the Rangers put him on the 60-day injured list after right forearm flexor tendon surgery and declared him out for the rest of the season.

Season Summary: The Rangers acquired Garver to work as the front-line of a catching tandem with Jonah Heim. But the flexor tendon injury derailed that plan. Garver wasn’t able to catch after the injury, and the Rangers tried to keep his bat in the lineup as a DH. What ended up happening was Garver trying to gut through an injury that needed surgery, which came in July. Garver’s batting average dropped nearly 40 points as a result of the injury and the inconsistent use.

Contract Status: Garver is entering his third arbitration season as a MLB player. He’s eligible for free agency in 2024.

What’s next: Garver and the Rangers made the decision to have him do the surgery in July so that he had every chance to be ready for the 2023 season. Garver will enter a crowded catching situation. Heim has proved himself capable of handling the majority of the work. The Rangers brought in Kevin Plawecki late in the season and put him on the 40-man roster. Plus, there’s Sam Huff, the organization’s top catching prospect. Garver is a bit of a luxury at this point. He’ll need to prove he’s healthy and that his bat is back to make the Opening Day roster.

2022 Texas Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps:

Ezequiel Duran | A.J. Alexy | Josh Smith | Tyson Miller | Corey Seager | Joe Barlow | Leody Taveras | Brad Miller | Drew Strotman | Josh Jung | Jon Gray | Taylor Hearn

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