Mariners Release Mitch Garver, Rob Refsnyder

The Mariners have released catcher Mitch Garver and outfielder Rob Refsnyder, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. Refsnyder will be replaced by Taylor Ward, who was acquired in a trade yesterday. Catcher Jhonny Pereda will be recalled to replace Garver. Ted of minnesotasportsfan.com previously reported that Garver and Refsnyder would be bumped off the roster. Garver and Refsnyder were both offseason signings which didn’t pan out. Garver, 35, isn’t a strong defender behind the plate and needs to hit to provide value. He has done that at times in his career but the past few years have been rough and he hasn’t gotten back on track here in 2026. He has a huge 14.8% walk rate but has also been punched out in 32.9% of his trips to the plate this year. He has a .175/.302/.294 line in 149 plate appearances. It seems the M’s will turn things over to Pereda, who will now be Cal Raleigh‘s backup. Pereda, 30, still has a modest big league track record but has generally hit well in the minors. That includes a .319/.402/.440 line in Triple-A this year. A .355 batting average on balls in play is helping him out quite a bit but his 11% walk rate and 11.9% strikeout rate are both really strong figures. Pereda is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options next year. He still has five years of club control remaining, so he could be kept around as the backup again next season, but it’s also possible the M’s look for external additions. More to come. View Comments (27)