Suggesting that 2020 was an awful year for Mitch Garver
would be putting it lightly. Even with the small sample size, he left plenty to
be desired going into the season. But now, where has the dust settled?
In trying to play a season through a global pandemic plenty was
made regarding the small sample size even a full slate of games would provide.
Offering players just 60 games of runway largely invalidated the length
necessary for baseball statistics to normalize. For Minnesota Twins catcher
Mitch Garver, the total was just 23 games and his .511 OPS looked like a far
cry from his Bomba Squad contributions a year prior.
Shelved for the stretch run, Garver ceded time to rookie
Ryan Jeffers. The 2018 draftee was selected for his bat and the .791 OPS
through his first 26 games at the big league level made things interesting. It
appeared that the Twins would either have a nice tandem if Mitch returned to form,
or that their new pick would unseat the veteran.
Fast forward to where we are today, and the roles have
reversed. Through 79 games this season Jeffers has just a .666 OPS and was
demoted to Triple-A in favor of non-hitting defensive option Ben Rortvedt.
Garver meanwhile has rebounded to the tune of an .880 OPS but again has been
hampered by injuries and played in just 61 games.
Missing most of his time this season due to an unfortunate
foul ball ricochet, it’s fair to suggest that Garver’s injury situation has
been fluky at best. Recently a nagging back has kept him out, but a return to
the lineup for the final two weeks has now commenced. The production itself has
returned, but we’re dealing with a sample that would’ve been considered too
small just a season ago.
That leaves Derek Falvey and Thad Levine in an interesting
position going into the offseason. 2020 saw the Twins opting for a split with
veteran backstop Alex Avila. It’d be unfortunate if the roster needs a player
like that given Minnesota’s internal options. What needs to happen however, is
that this version of Mitch Garver continues to present itself over the course
of a full season in 2022.
The knock on Garver has always been his defensive ability.
Ratcheting up his framing prowess and receiving skills took his game to new
heights, and the bat that has always been his calling card has stood out since
his true emergence on the big league roster. With an electronic strike zone
looking more likely than not, the Twins need a thumping version of Garver to
remain productive.
At 30-years-old there’s not much reason to worry about the
expense side of the equation. Under team control until he’s entering his age-34
season, Garver could be carried through arbitration without ever truly needing
a long-term extension. Minnesota certainly could opt to keep Garver around if
his production warrants it past his prime, but the incentive to do so will be
entirely results based as opposed to necessary projection.
There’s plenty up in the air when it comes to the Twins in
2022. A team that was supposed to compete should have never flopped this hard.
It’s been great to see Mitch Garver take back the reigns on his career however,
and looking for a full runway of games, the goal will be to replicate the
offensive performance once again.
