Two years ago today, Jerry Dipoto stood before the Seattle Mariners fanbase and offered what was supposed to be a Christmas gift — a veteran bat, a proven postseason performer, and a stabilizing presence in the middle of the lineup. What the Mariners ultimately received, however, was not a gift at all.
It was a lump of coal.
The two-year, $24 million contract for Mitch Garver, signed with hopes of solving Seattle’s long-running offensive woes, has aged poorly — painfully so. As the calendar turns and another offseason drags on without impact moves, the Garver deal has resurfaced as a symbol of something far bigger than one failed signing. It has become an indictment of Dipoto’s 11-year inability to land an elite free-agent hitter from outside the organization.
And that reality is growing harder to ignore.
When the Mariners signed Garver, the vision was clear. He was not brought in to be a depth piece. He was not signed to mentor young players from the bench. He was supposed to be the designated hitter — a cleanup bat capable of protecting Julio Rodríguez, lengthening the lineup, and punishing mistakes.
Instead, Garver delivered one of the most underwhelming offensive performances in recent Mariners history.
In his time with Seattle, Garver slashed .187/.290/.341, producing a .632 OPS while earning $12 million per year. Those numbers were not merely disappointing — they were actively harmful for a team desperately searching for offense. Night after night, a lineup already struggling for consistency found itself anchored by a black hole in the middle.
The problem wasn’t effort. The problem was fit, expectation, and execution — all of which fell apart.
To Garver’s credit, there were flashes that suggested he could still contribute at the major league level. As a backup catcher, his framing, game-calling, and occasional power hinted at utility value. But that was never the plan.
Seattle didn’t pay $24 million for a backup catcher.
They paid for a middle-of-the-order bat — and that’s where the signing collapsed. Garver was miscast, overexposed, and ultimately overwhelmed in a role that demanded consistency he could not provide. As the struggles mounted, so did the pressure, and the Mariners found themselves once again scrambling for answers at DH.
It was a familiar story. Too familiar.
The Garver signing hurts not just because it failed, but because it fits a pattern that now spans more than a decade.
In 11 seasons as the Mariners’ head of baseball operations, Jerry Dipoto has yet to successfully sign a true impact free-agent hitter from outside the organization. The names change. The contracts vary. The outcome remains the same.
Seattle has developed talent. Seattle has traded for pieces. Seattle has relied heavily on internal growth. But when it comes to winning the free-agent market for offensive stars, the Mariners have consistently come up empty.
Garver was supposed to be different — a shorter commitment, lower risk, veteran reliability. Instead, the move reinforced the perception that Seattle either cannot attract elite bats, or cannot properly evaluate them.
Neither explanation inspires confidence.
The cost of the Garver deal went beyond the payroll. It impacted lineup construction, limited flexibility, and placed additional strain on young hitters forced to carry an offense that never truly stabilized.
More importantly, it eroded trust.
Fans were told to be patient. To believe the plan. To trust the process. Two years later, patience is wearing thin. Each underwhelming offseason adds fuel to the frustration, and each failed signing becomes evidence for critics who argue the front office is spinning its wheels.
“This was the move,” one longtime Mariners fan said. “This was supposed to help push them over the top. Instead, it set them back.”
Fast forward to today, and the current offseason feels eerily similar. Plenty of conversation. Plenty of restraint. Very little impact.
While rival teams aggressively reshape their rosters, Seattle once again finds itself on the periphery — watching, waiting, and hoping internal improvements will be enough. That strategy has kept the Mariners competitive, but it has not made them dangerous.
And that’s the fear.
The Garver signing is no longer just a bad contract. It is a reminder of what happens when calculated risks repeatedly miss — and when boldness gives way to caution at the wrong moments.
Hope still exists. It always does. The Mariners have young stars, elite pitching, and a fanbase desperate to believe that this time will be different. Perhaps this offseason will finally break the pattern. Perhaps Dipoto will land the bat Seattle has chased for over a decade.
But until that happens, the memory of Mitch Garver will linger.
A Christmas gift that promised warmth and delivered cold disappointment. A contract that was meant to solve a problem — and instead exposed one.
Two years later, the coal still burns.
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