Dan Wilson says the quiet part out loud about Mariners' backup catcher search

The Mariners are looking for a few things this winter. Third base is where they'll need the most help in the lineup, and second base is another spot that could need to be backfilled since Jorge Polanco might not be returning to the team next year. They've already gotten some bullpen help in the trade that sent Harry Ford to the Nationals, so other than those two infield spots, Seattle is looking pretty set.

Well, sort of. Having a great group of starters is one thing, but in a 162-game season, depth is also important, especially when it comes to the toughest position in baseball. Cal Raleigh somehow served as a top-tier catcher for 1,072 innings while also posting a 169 OPS+ with 60 home runs, but even he had to take some days off. Mitch Garver was his understudy in 2025 and now that both he and Ford are gone, the Mariners are in the market for a new second option with one major caveat.

Dan Wilson stated that while the team needs a backup catcher, whoever ends up filling the position likely won't play much

In a recent interview with The Seattle Times, manager Dan Wilson remarked to Adam Jude that getting a backup catcher is a priority moving forward, but implied that he still expected Raleigh to take up the lion's share of playing time.

"The way Cal developed last year, the amount that he caught, it’s a role that is going to be pretty unique [for a backup], but I’m excited to see where we land with it."

Dan Wilson

Seattle's manager is right to be optimistic. Cal Raleigh is still relatively young at 29 years old and is coming off the best season of his life while missing minimal time to injury or even rest. It makes sense that the Mariners would want to use him as much as possible. Nonetheless, he can't play every game, so it makes sense to have a backup just in case.

Luckily, this means the team doesn't have to shell out anywhere close to the $24 million they paid Garver over his two years on the team. It's important to remember that the size of his contract was because he was slotted in as the team's primary designated hitter and only fell into being the backup catcher because his offensive numbers never took off.

This means the Mariners have plenty of affordable options in front of them. Gary Sánchez, Elias Díaz, and Victor Caratini are possible players who should be quite cheap and come with just enough upside to make a deal worthwhile. None of these players is All-Star-caliber, but behind the best catcher in the game, they don't need to be. Of course, one could argue that Seattle traded away the solution to this problem in Harry Ford. That may be true but when it comes to marginal roster value in the present, the front office seems more than willing to bolster the bullpen at the cost of backstop depth.

The Mariners will inevitably get someone, just don't be shocked if it's a player you barely recognize or have never heard of. They have bigger fish to fry ahead of the 2026 season.