4 minSports
World Series Champion Mitch Garver Retires at 35
Catcher and designated hitter Mitch Garver, a key contributor to the Texas Rangers' 2023 World Series title, has announced his retirement after 10 major league seasons with the Twins, Rangers and Mariners.
Mitch Garver, the catcher and designated hitter who helped the Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series, has retired from baseball at 35, he confirmed to in a text message.
Garver's 10-season major league career took him from the Minnesota Twins, who drafted and developed him, to Texas and finally Seattle. He finishes with a.229 career batting average, 110 home runs and 324 runs batted in across 701 games.
The Albuquerque native spent the first five seasons of his career with the Twins, where he emerged as one of the American League's more productive hitting catchers. His best season came in 2019, when he hit 31 home runs, drove in 67 runs and posted a.995 OPS — a performance that earned him a Silver Slugger Award.
In 2022, Minnesota traded Garver to the Rangers, where he became a key contributor to the franchise's first World Series championship. During the 2023 postseason, he appeared in 14 games, hitting.226 with three home runs and 14 RBI as Texas captured the title.
That postseason run positioned Garver for a significant payday. He signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Seattle Mariners, which at the time was the richest contract Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto had ever handed out. First baseman Josh Naylor has since surpassed that mark with a five-year, $92.5 million deal.
Garver's time in Seattle did not match his production in Texas. He struggled offensively and was relegated to a backup role behind catcher Cal Raleigh. Even without a starting job, he remained an important clubhouse presence and helped Raleigh during his record-setting 2025 season.
The Mariners released Garver in August. He signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees but never appeared in a major league game for the team, bringing his playing career to a quiet close before his formal announcement.
Garver's retirement ends a career defined by a late-career peak and a championship contribution. A former ninth-round draft pick who did not reach the majors until 2017, he developed into an All-Star-caliber bat behind the plate in Minnesota, then found himself traded to a Rangers club on the verge of contention.
His 2019 breakout remains the statistical high point: 31 homers and a.995 OPS from a catcher were among the best offensive seasons at the position in Twins history. The Silver Slugger recognized him as the top hitter at his position in the American League that year.
In Texas, Garver's value shifted from everyday production to postseason contribution. His 14 RBI in the 2023 playoffs tied him to a championship run that delivered the Rangers their first title, and his presence in the lineup gave manager Bruce Bochy another right-handed power option against left-handed pitching.
The Mariners bet on that track record with the largest contract Dipoto had awarded at the time, but the fit never materialized. Garver's offensive numbers dipped in Seattle, and Raleigh's emergence as the everyday catcher pushed him into a reduced role.
His mentorship of Raleigh during the 2025 season offered a final measure of his career: a veteran who adapted to a diminished role and helped a younger catcher set records. Garver leaves the game with a championship ring, a Silver Slugger and a decade of major league service.
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