Minnesota Twins: Catcher Mitch Garver getting the call to the Majors
The Minnesota Twins’ Robbie Grossman was injured in an outfield collision Thursday night. Mitch Garver takes his roster spot and looks to propel the Twins.
With a doubleheader Thursday, the Minnesota Twins‘ front office was going to be busy anyway. A broken thumb for OF/DH Robbie Grossman is going to add one more move as it looks like Grossman will be headed to the DL. Although nothing is official from the Twins at this time, it looks as though C/OF Mitch Garver will be taking his place on the Twins’ 25-man roster.
The first report of Garver’s promotion comes from his college baseball coach:
Congratulations to Lobo Legend Mitch Garver. He is going to the big leagues!!!😃😜😎😁🤠
— Ray Birmingham (@BirminghamRay) August 18, 2017
From there, all other Twitter chatter continues to point to the confirmation of Garver’s promotion.
Those who follow the Twins’ minor league system have been calling out for Garver’s bat to make it to the MLB team for some time. This season at AAA Rochester the catcher has hit .291/.387/.541 with 17 home runs. Earlier this summer, Garver was the #11 prospect in our Twins prospect list here at Puckett’s Pond.
More from Minnesota Twins News
- Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ Joey Gallo signing
- Minnesota Twins: Grading the Christian Vazquez Signing
- Minnesota Twins: Twins jump into Top 5 in first MLB Draft Lottery
- Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton wins 2022 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award
- Minnesota Twins: A Twins Homage to the Turkey of the Year Award
In the immediate, as the Twins push to claim a playoff spot, Garver will provide a right-handed, outfield bat that has some pop. Something they have lacked throughout the season. It will give Paul Molitor lineup options when facing left-handed pitchers. Especially to allow Max Kepler or Eddie Rosario sit who have had their struggles against lefties.
As far as long-term prospects for Garver, in July Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs described Garver as a “solid defensive catcher with average raw-power and hit-tool projection.” Mentioning “high-end backup catcher” and “fringy regular bat” as his potential future in the majors. Our own Benjamin Chase also gave a scouting report on Garver earlier this summer that you can read here.
While Longenhagen’s projection may feel a bit like a buzzkill, it may be a perfect fit for the Twins. Current backup catcher Chris Gimenez is only signed through this season. Opening up a spot for Garver as the backup catcher, or he could maybe even platoon with current starter Jason Castro. There is always a chance that his bat will play better than projected, in which he could also pick up days as the team’s DH.
While we never want to see a player injured, the ability to move Garver up to the majors needed to happen at some point this season. His bat and position flexibility will be able to help the team down the stretch. And the team will have a chance to evaluate just how his hitting and defense will be able to help the Twins in 2018.
Next: Daily Dip for August 18th
Again, this move hasn’t been announced officially by the Minnesota Twins but all the chatter points to it being the move for an injured Grossman. Is this the move you would have made? Maybe you would have rather seen someone like Kennys Vargas or ByungHo Park? Let us know!