Mariners already have a good excuse to keep Mitch Garver around for opener

Plenty of fans were understandably exasperated when the Mariners brought Mitch Garver back on a minor league deal last month, but took solace in the belief that he was extremely unlikely to be a part of the Opening Day roster. Well... not so fast on this.

Yes, Garver has been true to form following two horrendous years with the Mariners, going just 2-for-19 so far this spring with 10 strikeouts. However, if the team is looking for an excuse to keep him around, it's the fact that George Kirby REALLY likes throwing to him.

Kirby wore a PitchCom device for the second time this spring on Sunday afternoon versus the Reds, to help him have more conviction in his pitches and to avoid being thrown off by back-and-forths with his catcher. However, as per Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports, Mariners manager Dan Wilson does not believe the device needs to be used much by the righty when he has Garver behind the plate.

No denying George Kirby has better results with Mitch Garver compared to Cal Raleigh

Wilson went on to discuss how well the duo work together and for all of Garver's issues the past two seasons with the Mariners, he did catch 17 of Kirby's 56 starts in that time. And the thought of the 2019 Silver Slugger being Kirby's personal catcher gains more credence when you look at the returns in 2024 and 2025, compared to when throwing to Cal Raleigh:

Before any Garver detractors get too excited about how the ERA returns switched around last season, keep in mind Kirby had a 11.0 K/BB ratio when throwing to him compared to 4.00 when pitching to Raleigh. Suddenly, this whole personal catcher talk doesn't seem quite so far-fetched.

As per SoDo Mojo's Zachary Rymer, Kirby experimenting with a PitchCom device could potentially risk some conflict with Raleigh if he wants to have more say in his pitch selection. Calling pitches is usually the catcher's responsibility, and Raleigh is notorious for becoming irritated when pitchers shake him off in certain situations.

Mariners' other catchers having their own issues at the plate this spring

If we really want to turn the screw on this whole potential situation of Garver making the Opening Day roster, keep in mind his rivals for the backup catcher position haven't exactly been great shakes themselves with the bat this spring. Andrew Knizner is just 3-for-24 with no RBI, while Jhonny Pereda is only 3-for-20 and also with no RBI.

Ultimately, we still figure Knizner is the favorite to land the gig as Raleigh's main backup, although this is at least partly influenced by him being on a Major League deal as opposed to Garver's own contract situation. Put the respective deals to one side and as bad as Garver was at the plate the last two seasons in Seattle, his mediocre .632 OPS still easily surpasses Knizner's .490 OPS over the same time period.

If nothing else, the clock is ticking on what the Mariners are going to do with Garver, due to him having six years of service time and finishing last season on their Major League roster. As per the current Collective Bargaining Agreement his deal allows him to opt out on Mar. 21 if he's not on the M's 26-man roster, so we'll find out soon enough how much of an influence Kirby's liking for him impacts the makeup of the team.