After the Mariners rejected their end Mitch Garver‘s $12MM mutual option last fall, Garver took his $1MM buyout and sat “super slow offseason. I have never received a good offer or a legitimate offer“as the catcher told Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. Garver’s long wait in free agency ended two days ago when he re-signed with the M’s on a minor league deal, and Garver praised the backstop. Raleigh by helping to get the ball rolling at the meet.
Earlier this week, Garver said “Cal held out his hand and said, ‘Maybe you should try calling the Sailors.’ So we called Justin [Hollander, the Mariners’ GM]. Within 24 hours, we were able to fix something.” Reports in December indicated that Seattle was interested in bringing Garver back, however Andrew Knizner signed to a one-year, $1MM guaranteed deal, Garver’s return gives the M’s more depth behind the plate.
Raleigh started 38 games at DH last season, as the Mariners wanted to give the pitcher a break from hitting while still keeping his power belt in the lineup. With a young and productive Raleigh vital to Seattle’s hopes, the team figures to use this same strategy again in 2026, opening the door for more time in the backup. It’s probably not out of the question that both Garver and Knizner are on the 26-man roster, though the M’s are likely to stick with Raleigh and one backup as a backup.
Elsewhere in Mariners camp, Adam Divish of the Seattle Times documents that infield prospect Michael Arroyo he will get looks as a third baseman and left fielder when Arroyo returns from national team duty with Colombia during the World Baseball Classic. Arroyo never played in the outfield as a professional, and played in a few games at the hot corner when he played with the Mariners’ Dominican Summer League team in 2022. Other than that, Arroyo played exclusively as a center fielder, and was only a second baseman and DH in the minors in 2025.
Entering 2026, Baseball Prospectus ranks Arroyo as the 36th best young player in the sport, and The Athletic’s Keith Law (49th), ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (62nd), and MLB Pipeline (67th) all have Arroyo among their top 100 rankings. The consensus on Arroyo’s defense is that he could end up being a major league second baseman, or even a mid-season acquisition. Brendan Donovan and a host of other infield prospects, it makes sense that the Mariners would want to maximize Arroyo’s versatility.
The year 2027 is perhaps the most likely date for Arroyo’s Major League debut. He just turned 21 last November, and had a .255/.376/.341 slash line over 250 PA with Double-A Arkansas in 2025. Arroyo’s approach to the plate is well-regarded by scouts, but he’ll need big numbers in the minors (and maybe injuries or league depth) to be called up this year.
In a long piece from Ryan Divish, Bryce Miller reported good health and a normal offseason routine after an injury-plagued 2025 season. Miller is limited to 18 innings and 90 1/3 innings in 2025 due to several stints on the injured list, as Miller battles bone spurs in his elbow. Rather than opting for surgery, Miller received a cortisone shot and a PRP shot to aid his recovery, and finished his difficult year with a career-high 2.51 ERA over three starts and 14 1/3 innings during Seattle’s postseason run.
After the season, Miller said he received an injection of Synvisc, which “as a gel, as a joint lubricant.” This allowed him to continue as normal this winter, and he may be able to avoid surgery altogether.
“[Dr. Keith] Meister was like, ‘Don’t touch it [Miller’s elbow]. If it feels good, don’t touch it’,” Miller said.Now that we kind of know how to help you, if you feel anything in the offseason or anything in Spring Training or anything during the year, just get another injection, to get you rolling again now that we know how to fix it.’ He advises doing anything until I hear something and I haven’t heard anything.”
Miller has already hit 98mph in his batting practice sessions, and has added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason. Now entering his fourth MLB season, Miller looked like a breakout star when he had a 2.94 ERA over 180 1/3 innings with the Mariners in 2024, before his hamstring derailed his progress last year.
