One Fan's Opinion: Don't Trade Garver

[Sherry Cerny]

Michael Rand wrote a Star-Tribune article three weeks ago on why Mitch Garver could be traded during the 2021 off-season. However, I wonder if the Twins have enough catching depth to deal Garver and rely on Ryan Jeffers and Ben Rortvedt (and Willians Astudillo if you, unlike the Twins staff, think he can be a catcher). 

The job of the catcher is physically demanding. It is certainly a position of attrition. Over the years, the body takes a beating. Squatting behind home plate in eight pounds of gear. Blocking balls in the dirt with the chest protector, or whatever body part gets hit. Throwing to the bases. Framing pitches.  

In addition to the physical demands, the mental part of the game, knowing the opposing batters, working with his pitcher, and the home plate ump. 

Often, the catcher is overlooked and under-appreciated. However, it is one of the most critical roles on the team. While the pitcher gets all the accolades, the catcher deserves a ton of credit for all he does before and during the games to help the pitcher. 

Even though Joe Mauer didn’t catch for years prior to his retirement, the Twins organization has not let us down by having solid players in the catcher position. While none may have been a "hometown hero," Mitch Garver has become a fan favorite. 

The 31-year-old baseball player has not slowed down since coming into the 40 man roster in 2017. Garver's age based on the way he recovers and plays is certainly not a factor - not only for him but for baseball in general. The catcher is typically the oldest position on the field - simply because it's hard to find a good catcher, and when you do, you sign them. The average age of a catcher has continued to change over the years. While 30 years old is in the 86th percentile of the age bracket for catchers, his predecessor would show that the average is just another statistic (Joe Mauer retired in 2018 at the age of 35, but was done catching at the age of 30). Garver has no intention of allowing his age to be a setback. 

Due to an IL stint early in 2021, Mitch Garver had two years in a row that weren’t nearly as good or productive as 2019. As if 2020 wasn't enough of a buzz-kill thanks to Covid-19, Garver was already suffering from an intercostal strain making his defensive play less than desirable. Twins Daily writer J. Cameron wrote a link on March 7th describing why 2020 was a poor season for Garver and 2021 wasn't as glamorous as 2019. 

However, he was undoubtedly poised for hitting the ball, still being one of the best hitting catchers in MLB. That came to a screeching halt on June 1st, while playing against the Orioles. Garver took a foul tip to the groin, putting the player on the IL and requiring surgery. The plague of injuries continued not only for Garver but the Twins.

Garver had a successful emergency surgery and addressed the fans, thanking them for their well-wishes and prayers. 

Garver spent the next seven weeks? Rehabbing for St. Paul just before paternity leave. We got a glimpse of the 2019 Garver when he smacked a line-drive solo shot to left field off Detroit Tigers righty Reynaldo López in the second inning. He also lobbed a solo shot to center field off reliever Matt Foster in the fifth inning. 

To solidify his place in the lineup - for the first time in his career, Garver hit a grand-slam in the July 27th game - just his second game back after rehab - off pitcher Tyler Alexander 433 feet into left-center bleachers. 

Garver only played in 68 games, started out the season with the team as the starting catcher, but then left in June, had three separate stints in the Injured List, spent time on the paternity list, and still gave the fans and the front office a reason to cheer. With 243 plate appearances, the catcher hit 15 doubles, 13 homers and had 34 RBI.  He was up above league average in OPS, slugging percentage and had a solid on-base percentage  OBP. His  max velocity averaged in the 86th percentile for 2021 among other catchers in the league.  

Garver had also not lost his touch behind the plate. He has a strong chemistry with the pitching staff that seems to be second to none. He understands the players at the plate, their strengths and weaknesses, and exploits them. He has greatly improved his pitch framing which gives  his pitchers more strikes. His small defensive movements to frame the ball just enough to pull off strikes is pure magic. Garver finished at number 12 in the MLB framing leader board for 2021 despite playing just 68 games played. That may not mean a lot to everyone, and that's fine - but what it shows is that Garver is a catching mastermind and knows how to work the plate, umps, and batters, something that select few catchers seem to do very well. Chemistry is not easy to find between a catcher and pitcher, and it can affect how a game turns out. Rortvedt and Jeffers also have great chemistry with the pitchers, but they haven’t been around as long as Garver in the organization, giving him an edge.

When Garver returned from both the groin injury, hand injury and paternity leave, the Twins games improved. Not to say Garver carried the team, as Byron Buxton also returned, but his return and position in the line up is an asset to the team. 

Ryan Jeffers, while younger, and defensively sound, does not show as much solidarity as Garver all around. Garver hopefully  has years left behind the plate, but the other two catchers are not ready for the demand of a 162- game season. While Jeffers and Rortvedt have good defensive skill and offensive potential (especially Jeffers), now is not the time to trade Mitch Garver.  

If you were in charge, what would the Twins catching situation look like in 2022? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[Karbo]

Garver is a solid #1 catcher and should be kept. Jeffers and Rortvedt have to show they can hit in the bigs consistently.

[TheLeviathan]

Really good player.  Shop him and trade him if you can get a good pitcher.

[RonCoomersOPS]

I'm confused. Has he not slowed down since being added to the 40 man roster in 2017, or was 2020 a poor year and 2021 less glamorous than 2019?

In any case, he's on the wrong side of 30 and you have to wonder how much longer he will be able to stick behind the plate even if you aren't thinking about his injury history. I think the best way to use him moving forward is as a trade piece.

[Jaycm1344]

Agree to disagree Sherry, sorry.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

He’s a great catcher and elite hitter (for a catcher) but as others have pointed out, time is not on Garver’s side. If you can swing a good starting pitcher for him, do it. Jeffers and Rortvedt will be a step down, but he and Buxton are the only ML assets that will legitimately bring back value, and the step down from Buxton to Celestino (or who ever) is much greater than Garver to Jeffers.

while depth at catcher is great, it’s a luxury the Twins cannot afford

[DJL44]

Ever hear the saying "better to trade someone a year too early than a year too late"? That's Mitch Garver.

I think a challenge trade to the Yankees that brings back Gary Sanchez + another player (Jameson Taillon? Domingo German?) could be interesting for the Twins. The Yankee fans really don't want Sanchez around. He's expensive and Garver isn't (projected arb number $5M less than Sanchez). The Yankees are trying to find a way to limit their luxury tax bill and have a lot of arbitration eligible players.

[kenneth frank]

The Twins have a perceived strength at catcher and they need to keep it. Might be better to see how the upcoming season goes and either way it goes an in season trade might be more prudent.

[Seth Stohs]

If I'm the Twins, I don't look to trade Garver. I certainly would take the phone calls, but there is no reason to trade him just to trade him. He hasn't caught a ton. The Twins take care of their catchers. So yeah, unless they get offered an MLB #1 or #2 starter (or a prospect with that potential, and more), keep him and be happy about it! 

[yeahyabetcha]

Unless offered an deal too hard to say no to (not gonna happen), he won’t be traded.  He is a very good hitter, is affordable. And his replacements are questionable at this point.

[twinssporto]

Trading him is crazy unless there his a huge return. Think Herschel Walker Vikings/Cowboys crazy.

[Nine of twelve]

Trade anyone if the return improves the team.

[bean5302]

If the Twins trade Garver, I'd wager they'll look to add a decent veteran starting catcher in free agency. Jeffers and Rortvedt just didn't take advantage of their opportunities to prove they could be counted on as starters at the MLB level.

[PopRiveter]

From this point in his career, Garver cannot become expensive. He will be compensated at the rate of a role player. However, he's shown us he has the upside potential to be a star-level producer. I would like to see the team keep him around for at least 2 more years. Low risk/high reward opportunity.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

"Low risk, high reward opportunity." I like that quote. Keep Garv Sauce. 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, PopRiveter said:

From this point in his career, Garver cannot become expensive. He will be compensated at the rate of a role player. However, he's shown us he has the upside potential to be a star-level producer. I would like to see the team keep him around for at least 2 more years. Low risk/high reward opportunity.

Garver will be near $80-100MM if he plays the next two years healthy as he'll be in the conversation for best catcher in MLB and he'll be a free agent after 2023. The only thing which will hold him under $125MM is his age at a33 to start free agency due to the Twins mishandling him and unfair baseball control rules. Of course, Garver being healthy seems to have about the same likelihood as Buxton being healthy. 

[Stew]

Don't trade garver. People are nuts. Garver is pald at almost the the lowest level for a catcher. Why do we develop players and get rid of them in there prime. Garver is 31 that's not old.please look at his stats and double them. Then you will see how good he is. I know it is the age of the home run . But everyone we want to trade is a hitter with good avg. and obp. The twins had 12 guys with below average obp. And 9 guys with below average batting avg.

[RpR]

On 10/31/2021 at 1:34 PM, Sconnie said:

He’s a great catcher and elite hitter (for a catcher) but as others have pointed out, time is not on Garver’s side. If you can swing a good starting pitcher for him, do it. Jeffers and Rortvedt will be a step down, but he and Buxton are the only ML assets that will legitimately bring back value, and the step down from Buxton to Celestino (or who ever) is much greater than Garver to Jeffers.

while depth at catcher is great, it’s a luxury the Twins cannot afford

It is not a step down, it is falling into a bottom-less cavern.

Rortvedt is probably as good defensively as Mauer but Jeffers is not as good as Garver and Jeffers and  Rortvedt batting will leave the Twins with a combined sub .200 batting average.

[lecroy24fan]

Keep Sauce. If for some reason in the future he can't remain a catcher you can use him at 1B and DH. The power is there so he'd be fine.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

41 minutes ago, RpR said:

It is not a step down, it is falling into a bottom-less cavern.

Rortvedt is probably as good defensively as Mauer but Jeffers is not as good as Garver and Jeffers and  Rortvedt batting will leave the Twins with a combined sub .200 batting average.

Indeed, the rate is significantly different, in Garver’s more capable bat.

Magnitude, however softens the delta as it’s not a 162 games of difference. It’s at most 80 games of Garver. Jeffers and Rortvedt are catching at least half the ‘22 season no matter what.

[PopRiveter]

On 11/1/2021 at 1:09 PM, bean5302 said:

Garver will be near $80-100MM if he plays the next two years healthy as he'll be in the conversation for best catcher in MLB and he'll be a free agent after 2023. The only thing which will hold him under $125MM is his age at a33 to start free agency due to the Twins mishandling him and unfair baseball control rules. Of course, Garver being healthy seems to have about the same likelihood as Buxton being healthy. 

I hope he can get a few years of good pay, but he's got 2 more years of arbitration and he's coming off a salary of $1.85mil in 2020. He's projected to make around $3mil next year which means if he's really productive he could maybe make $10mil (?) in 2022.

Those two years should be productive and a true bargain. I would stick with him if I were the Twins.

As a 33 year old, if he is coming of consecutive healthy, productive years, Garver could maybe get something like the Yasmani Grandal 4/$73mil, but that would really be best case scenario for him at that age in my estimation.