Overview
- The Yankees signed Mitch Garver to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with an opt-out later this month after reports published Friday confirmed the deal.
- Manager Aaron Boone said the club added Garver to ‘‘add to our depth and protection’’ and to evaluate him in the organization.
- Garver hit .175/.302/.294 in 149 plate appearances for the Seattle Mariners this season and was released by Seattle earlier in the week, making his signing a low-risk reclamation attempt.
- Reports note Garver is a bat-first catcher with below-average receiving and framing marks, so any MLB promotion would hinge on a short-term offensive resurgence or an injury/need to the Yankees’ big-league catchers.
- Garver is a former 2019 Silver Slugger and a member of the 2023 World Series team, and his prior work with Yankees catching director Tanner Swanson and his right-handed bat make him a Plan B option after New York failed to acquire a right-handed catcher at the trade deadline.