Aug 25, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Andrés Muñoz (75) shakes hands with catcher Mitch Garver (18) following the final out of a victory against the San Diego Padres at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Mariners Under Fire For $12.5 Million Disastrous Contract

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Seattle Mariners have been rather aggressive for the last few years, but it hasn't gotten them to the World Series yet. In fact, despite their dominant moments, it hasn't gotten them close to the World Series.

Yet, the Mariners continue to be one of the most aggressive teams in the league. They went out and acquired Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor at the trade deadline and could look to make even bigger moves in the offseason.

But all these aggressive moves aren't aging the way the Mariners seemed to plan on them.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently listed Mitch Garver's contract with the Mariners as one of the worst deals in baseball. Garver is being paid $12.5 million this year, which is 7.8 percent of Seattle's entire payroll.

Mariners' Mitch Garver's contract looks horrible in hindsight

"Garver posted a 138 OPS+ with 19 home runs and 50 RBI for the World Series champion Rangers in 2023, and he parlayed that performance into a two-year, $24 million deal with the Mariners," Reuter wrote. "He has a .187/.293/.342 line and 86 OPS+ in 683 plate appearances in Seattle."

This contract was doomed to fail from the beginning.

While it's important to have multiple catchers on the roster, Raleigh has been the clear top dog in the Mariners catching room, so Garver was added as a backup and designated hitter. But handcuffing him to those duties puts the Mariners in a tough spot.

What makes the deal even worse is that the Mariners signed it while top prospect Harry Ford was dominating his way to the big leagues. Ford looks to be the team's catcher of the future, even with Raleigh in the way. Ford has slowly worked his way up the Mariners' minor league system.

To make matters even worse, Garver has been horrible with the team. He isn't an upgrade offensively or defensively over Raleigh. Soon, he's not going to be an upgrade over Ford.

The Mariners swung and missed with this signing. It's clear that they made the wrong decision.

More MLB: Mariners' World Series Hope In Jeopardy For Shocking Reason

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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