The New York Yankees have placed catcher Mitch Garver on the restricted list, a move that left fans searching for answers after the 35-year-old signed with the organization only weeks ago.
Garver joined the Yankees on a minor-league deal Aug. 8 after the Seattle Mariners released him. He spent a few days in the Florida Complex League, then reported to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He has not appeared in a major-league game for New York.
On Aug. 28, he exercised an assignment clause in his contract, giving other clubs a window to claim him for their active roster. If a team wanted him, the Yankees would have had 48 hours to promote him themselves or trade him. No club stepped forward, and Garver remained in the organization.
This week, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders listed Garver on the restricted list, per MLB.com. That designation is not an injury placement. Clubs typically use it when a player is unavailable for a non-baseball reason, fails to report, or leaves without permission. The team keeps rights to the player, who cannot play for another organization unless a deal is worked out.
Fans immediately asked what it meant for a possible September call-up and postseason eligibility.
Some speculated the clause left him in limbo after no team claimed him; others wondered if New York was simply parking him until a roster decision is made.
The confusion is understandable. Restricted-list placements are uncommon. In this case, the Yankees have not publicly detailed the reason.
Garver is a 10-year major leaguer with 110 career home runs. His peak remains 2019 with the Minnesota Twins, when he hit 31 home runs in 93 games, slugged .630, and won an American League Silver Slugger.
He later won a World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2023. This season with Seattle, he hit .175 with four homers in 50 games before his release.
The Yankees signed him as right-handed catching depth behind Austin Wells. Adding him to the big-league roster before Sept. 1 would have made him eligible for a postseason roster.
Whether that chance still exists is unclear. The restricted list does not automatically end his Yankees chapter, but it does pause it.
For now, a catcher who once mashed a bunch of homers for the Twins sits off the active board while New York sorts out its September roster.
