Mitch Garver Joins Pensacola On MLB Rehab

The Minnesota Twins announced today that catcher Mitch Garver will join the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on a rehab assignment as he recovers from a high ankle sprain suffered two weeks ago in a collision at the plate with Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim star Shohei Ohtani. Garver, one of the brightest breakout stars on the first-place Twins roster, has hit .329 with 9 home runs and 19 runs batted in through 25 games with the Twins.
A ninth round selection in 2013 from the University of New Mexico, Garver reached the major leagues in 2017 at the age of 26. In a 23-game stint with the Twins, he slashed .196/.288/.348. He played 102 games at the big league level in 2018, establishing himself as a strong option both offensively and defensively behind the plate while hitting .268/.335/.414 with seven home runs. After his strong 2018, Garver broke out in the early months of the 2019 season, holding the highest OPS+ (204) among all qualified catchers at the time of his injury. He leads all catchers with 50+ at-bats in batting average.
Garver is likely to catch five innings on Wednesday for the Wahoos, serve as designated hitter on Thursday, and catch a full game on Friday before possibly joining the Twins in Tampa for the end of their weekend series.