DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Rangers catcher Mitch Garver might have already played his final game behind the plate this season, the club's general manager Chris Young told 105.3 The Fan on Monday.
*Listen to the interview starting at 31:20.
Instead, Garver, who was activated before this past weekend's series in Houston after a 10-day stint on the Injured List with a right forearm flexor strain, will be deployed as the club's designated hitter, and he could even get some time at first base.
"Given the nature of Mitch's injury, I anticipate seeing him primarily at DH the rest of the year," Young said on the GBag Nation. "I don't anticipate that he'll spend a ton of time behind the plate. We may see if first base is an option where there's limited throwing. But certainly, we want to take some pressure off that elbow. He says it's okay [when he's] hitting, so we're very thrilled to have him as a DH. He's a very quality addition to our lineup when he's in the lineup. That said, I think getting him at-bats, and keeping him healthy is the priority for us. And that's going to be harder to do if he's behind the plate. So I wouldn't anticipate him being back behind the dish [in 2022]."
Garver, 31, served as the club's designated hitter in all four games in Houston, collecting three hits, including one home run.
Garver, one of the Rangers' shiny new acquisitions this offseason, has been anything but that in his first 26 games this season.
The 31-year-old was expected to bring some offensive punch to the lineup, but he was hitting just .207/.295/.337/.665 to go along with four home runs and nine RBI across 105 plate appearances when he went on the IL.
In Garver's absence, Jonah Heim and Sam Huff will continue to get work at catcher for the rest of the season.
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