The Seattle Mariners have the second-worst record in baseball since June 19. They lost a ten-game division lead and enter Thursday's action tied for the AL West lead with the Houston Astros. The Mariners are looking to power out of their struggles with big trade deadline additions. The offense has been struggling and players have been hearing it on social media. Catcher Mitch Garver revealed the threats he has received during the season in an emotional interview with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.
“It's probably the hardest I've ever had to grind. This is by far the worst I've ever played in my career. Tough on myself and my family with the death threats, the ‘retire' and ‘you suck' and ‘f***ing kill yourself' and all that s***.” Divish posted on X, formerly Twitter. “It's getting old. The only way I change it is if I play better, but it's like continuing right now. So the worse, I play more here. And rightfully so. I'm not playing well.”
Garver is in his first season with the Mariners and holds a .168 batting average in 89 games. A former Silver Slugger winner, Garver already has struck out more times this year than every season in his career. He is far from the only player on the Mariners who is struggling at the plate. They are tied for last in team batting average with the historically bad Chicago White Sox.
Mitch Garver's future with the Mariners
Like any athlete, Garver can endear himself to the fanbase with a great playoff run. The Mariners have a historically poor playoff history and anyone who can break that curse will become a hero. Fellow catcher Cal Raleigh proved that in 2022 when his walk-off home run sent the team to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.
The Mariners' struggles come after a great start to the season that exploded their playoff chances. Fangraphs' models had the Mariners at a 91.7% chance of making the playoffs on June 18. They currently sit at 48.3%, well below the Astros chances of 59.4%. They need Garver and the offense to power through these struggles to cash in on their great start.
The MLB trade deadline saw the Mariners add multiple hitters to improve their league-worst batting average. Outfielder Randy Arozarena and infielder Justin Turner have joined the team and could be taking at-bats away from Garver. Across the country, the struggling DJ LeMahieu had his best game of the season after sitting for multiple days in favor of new acquisition Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Mariners hope the same can be true of Garver.
Garver will be in Seattle for a while, as he is signed through 2025 with an option for 2026. While his tenure has not gotten off to a great start, he can turn it around. If the Mariners make the playoffs this year, Mitch Garver can endure himself to the fans by hitting a big homerun and coming through in the clutch. For now, they will hope he can help them get there with a massive improvement in August and September.
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