Mariners’ Latest Projection Reveals A Surprising Catcher Shift Behind Cal Raleigh

According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the Mariners’ latest Opening Day roster projection has Cal Raleigh and Andrew Knizner as Seattle’s two catchers, with Knizner currently edging out Mitch Garver for the backup job. Kramer also pointed out the key roster detail hanging over the battle: Knizner is on a guaranteed $1 million contract, while Garver returned on a Minors deal in February.

That projection feels surprising mostly because this role had quietly become Garver’s lane.

For the past two seasons, Garver has been the guy sitting behind Raleigh on the depth chart. Even when the fit never felt perfect, there was still a sense that Garver’s experience and offensive track record gave him a natural leg up in any backup catcher conversation. But that edge starts to fade when the production has been underwhelming, the contract status changes, and the roster gets a lot less forgiving. Garver hit .172 with a .627 OPS in 2024, then followed that with a .209 average and .640 OPS in 2025 before Seattle declined his 2026 option.

Mariners May Be Quietly Changing Course Behind Cal Raleigh

The argument seems less about the bat and more about the job itself. Historically, Garver would have the leg up offensively despite the poor numbers the last couple of years. But even if you just look at the spring numbers, neither guy is bringing anything offensively to get excited about right now. Garver has hit .167 in 12 spring at-bats, while Knizner has hit .158 in 19. Neither has driven in a run.

So if neither catcher is exactly setting the desert on fire with the bat, the real question becomes: who do the Mariners trust most behind the dish if Raleigh needs a day off? And maybe more importantly: how often are they even planning to let that happen?

That is the larger concern sitting underneath this projection. The Mariners seem content on keeping Raleigh behind the plate just as much as they have the last couple of years. In some ways, that is totally fine. Raleigh is 29, tough as nails, and still squarely in his prime. You don’t build around one of the best catchers in baseball just to get cute with workload management for the sake of it.

But there is another side to that confidence, and it is a little uncomfortable. Seattle looks completely content living with a single point of failure at catcher.

If Raleigh is healthy, the setup works. He catches a ton, anchors the staff, hits in the middle of the order, and makes the whole conversation feel smaller than it probably is. But if Raleigh ever misses time, this position starts looking thin in a hurry. That’s why Knizner winning the backup job matters more than people might want to admit. .

Knizner, for all his offensive limitations, does at least make some sense through that lens. He has seven MLB seasons under his belt and came to Seattle with more than 300 big-league games of catching experience. His career offensive line is modest, but this job does not need a savior with a bat. It needs someone the Mariners believe can keep things functional behind the plate if Raleigh is unavailable.

It hints at a quiet catcher shift. But it also shines a light on something a little more unsettling: the Mariners may know exactly who they want backing up Raleigh, and still not have a backup situation that feels especially comforting.