Mitch Garver Shines on Texas Rangers Injury Rehab Start
Texas Rangers catcher Mitch Garver hit a home run in his second injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.
Garver was coming off a two-hit game in his injury rehab debut on Tuesday against Albuquerque. For the second straight game, Garver batted second and was the designated hitter. His teammate, Travis Jankowski, batted first and played left field in his own injury rehab start.
Garver’s home run came in the fifth inning. It was a solo shot and at the time it sparked a four-run inning for the Express. He finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, run and a walk. He also struck out twice. Albuquerque won the game 10-4.
Garver went 2-for-4 in Tuesday’s game as well. He is expected to catch five innings Thursday.
Garver and the Express are in Albuquerque for a week-long series with the Isotopes. Garver played his college baseball for the University of New Mexico before the Minnesota Twins drafted him in 2013.
Garver’s workload once he’s activated remains to be determined, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said last week. One thing benefiting the Rangers is that they have an off-day on Thursday each of the next three weeks.
Garver was moved to the 10-day injured list on April 10 with a mild left knee sprain. He has been working out regularly the past couple of weeks and Rangers general manager Chris Young said Monday that he was making progress.
Garver was batting .263 with two home runs and six RBI at the time of the injury. Since then the Rangers have used Sandy León as the primary backup to Jonah Heim.
The Rangers traded for Garver, a former 30-home run hitter, last offseason and he missed the majority of the season with a right flexor tendon injury, which required surgery. He returned and ramped up well during Spring Training, getting back behind the plate and serving as a designated hitter. He made the Opening Day roster.
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