Mitch Garver - Looks healthy for spring Garver (forearm) took batting practice Monday and appears to be healthy for spring training, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports. Impact Garver, who agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal in January to avoid arbitration, is back in Texas for a second season. After heading into Opening Day last season as the Rangers' top backstop, Garver ended up making just 14 starts behind the plate before a right flexor sprain limited him strictly to designated-hitter duties until he underwent season-ending surgery on his forearm shortly before the All-Star break. Though his ability to take batting practice at the start of spring training suggests he's at or close to 100 percent, Garver may have to settle for more of a part-time role at catcher and DH in 2023. Even before having forearm surgery, Garver graded out poorly behind the plate. Jonah Heim, meanwhile, is a superior defensive option who also showed some pop and decent bat-to-ball skills while serving as Texas' primary backstop last season. The righty-hitting Garver thus looks like a better candidate for a short-side platoon gig at catcher or DH.
FEBRUARY 20, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
