Mitch Garver’s Injury May Lead to Sudden Call-Up of Top Mariners’ Prospect
Mariners backup catcher Mitch Garver was forced to exit in the bottom of the fifth inning of the club’s 10-1 blowout loss to the Twins Thursday afternoon after being struck by a foul ball in the chin/neck region. Garver will be further evaluated once the team arrives in Texas ahead of its weekend series against the Rangers, so for now it is unclear whether or not he will have to miss time due to the injury. Nevertheless, preparations are already being made if that winds up being the case.
Harry Ford, the Mariners’ top catching prospect, was scratched from the Tacoma Rainiers’ lineup Thursday night. Sources tell Emerald City Spectrum that Ford’s family have been informed the 2021 first-round draft pick will indeed join the Mariners in Arlington in light of Garver’s injury. The Rainiers, Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate, are conveniently in Texas for a series with the Round Rock Express just a few hours away, so Ford’s trip to Globe Life Field will be relatively short.
For now, Ford will be on the Mariners’ taxi squad until a determination is made on Garver, which should happen quickly. Cal Raleigh is not expected to get the start in Seattle’s series opener with Texas on Friday after having to unexpectedly fill in for Garver on Thursday. Raleigh wound up playing a little over three innings behind the plate, including an exhausting 39-pitch frame from reliever Zach Pop, in which the Twins scored eight runs. If Garver is deemed unable to play, the expectation is that Ford will be added to the 40- and 26-man rosters.
If that happens, Ford’s role could present a fascinating challenge for the Mariners’ coaching staff. The 22-year-old has been playing almost every day for Tacoma and has caught exclusively in 2025 after getting a handful of starts in the outfield last season with Double-A Arkansas. The Mariners have repeatedly emphasized their desire to develop Ford strictly as a catcher, but his opportunities in the majors would naturally be limited with Raleigh entrenched behind the plate.
Designated hitter has also been a difficult position to break into, as veteran Jorge Polanco has received the bulk of those at-bats. Seattle has occasionally used the DH spot to rest Raleigh from catching duties while keeping his bat in the lineup, or to gain a platoon advantage against left-handed starters. However, the Mariners are not scheduled to face a left-handed starter until July 2, when they take on Noah Cameron and the Royals.
This conundrum has at the very least played a significant role in Ford staying down in Triple-A up to this point. While he’s posted even better offensive numbers than Cole Young, who’s a year younger than Ford and was promoted to the major-league roster earlier this month, the path to giving him an appropriate amount of playing time is far less obvious — and Garver potentially being removed from the equation only solves half of the problem. In short: how Ford is used impacts the way Raleigh, Polanco, and Young are used as well.
All that said, it’s been tough to ignore Ford’s continued production given the wildly inconsistent state of the Mariners’ offense this season. After getting off to a slow start, Ford has brought his overall slash line up to .311/.426/.469 with a 17 percent strikeout rate and 15.5 percent walk rate through his first 60 Triple-A games while answering some questions about his over-the-wall power, popping eight home runs since April 27.
Once more information is available, this story will be updated.
