8 Mitch Garver C

Garver enters spring training fully healthy after he struggled with an intercostal last season that he says limited him more than he thought after video review, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. "It was probably one of the better offseasons I've had just as far as strength, mobility and being healthy coming into camp," he said.

Garver's 2020 season could hardly be more different than his 2019 breakout season. Garver went from hitting 31 home runs with a .630 SLG, to struggling with injuries, being lost at the plate, and slugging just .264. It's a good sign he's back to full strength, but his 2019 season may have been unsustainable anyway due to a 29 percent HR/FB rate. The Twins are likely to limit Garver's playing time to keep him fresh. He'll likley split playing time with Ryan Jeffers, who established himself in Garver's absence, even though both hit right-handed.

Garver signed a one-year, $1.875 million contract with the Twins on Wednesday to avoid arbitration, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old was set to enter his first year of arbitration but instead reached a deal with Minnesota. Garver struggled during the shortened season with a .511 OPS and 45.7 percent strikeout rate, but he's only a year removed from putting up a .995 OPS and 31 homers during the 2019 campaign.

Garver is not in the lineup for the first game of the AL Wild Card Round against the Astros on Tuesday.

Garver finished the year with a very disappointing .167/.247/.264 slash line in 23 games. Ryan Jeffers will start behind the plate, catching Kenta Maeda.

Garver is not in the lineup Sunday against the Reds, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Garver takes a seat for the second straight contest while going 4-for-21 with a homer and 14 strikeouts over his past six games. Alex Avila starts behind the plate in the final game of the regular season.

Garver will sit Saturday against the Reds.

Garver hasn't come close to repeating his .995 OPS from his breakout 2019 campaign, as his .498 OPS this season is barely more than halfway to that mark. He's remained the Twins' top option behind the plate when available, however, but not by a particularly large margin. Ryan Jeffers will be the catcher Saturday.

Garver will sit Wednesday against the Tigers.

Garver has been quite disappointing at the plate this season, as his .152/.240/.242 slash line could hardly be more different from his .273/.365/.630 line from his breakout 2019 campaign. He did at least hit his second homer of the year Tuesday, however. He won't get to follow that performance up here, as it will be Ryan Jeffers who gets the nod behind the plate.

Garver isn't in Saturday's lineup against the Cubs.

Garver returned from the injured list Friday, but he'll retreat to the bench once again as the Twins could ease him into action prior to the postseason. Alex Avila is starting behind the plate Saturday.

Garver (side) was activated off the 10-day injured list Friday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old was sidelined for the past month by a right intercostal strain, but he'll rejoin the Twins for the closing stretch of the regular season. Garver got off to an awful start this season with a .154/.262/.212 slash line and 24 strikeouts in his first 61 plate appearances.

Garver (right intercostal strain) had a setback after getting hit below the belt with a foul ball while catching at Minnesota's alternate training camp in St. Paul, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Garver has been on the injured list since Aug. 19 and it was thought he could return this week, but his additional injury set him back. It sounds like he could be activated next week when the Twins return from a seven-game road trip. However, with three catchers on the roster and rookie Ryan Jeffers playing well, Garver may be limited to a reserve role.

Garver (right intercostal strain) has been getting at-bats and working behind the plate at Minnesota's alternative training site, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Manager Rocco Baldelli said Garver may be available at some point during next week's road trip, the Minneapolis Star Tribune adds.

Garver has been on the injured list since Aug. 19 and only recently started resuming baseball activities, so a return next week may be too optimistic. Still, it sounds like he has a chance to return before the end of the season and be ready for the playoffs.

Garver (right intercostal strain) isn't close to returning soon, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The Tiwns announced late last week that Garver wasn't going to come off the 10-day IL after he was eligible and it doesn't sound like he's made any significant progress since then. Ryan Jeffers and Alex Avila will continue to split catching duties with Garver out.

Garver (right intercostal strain) will not return from the IL when eligible this weekend, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports. "I wouldn't say this is a quick, get to the end of 10 days, get ready to go," said president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. "We were hopeful of that, but he's remained a little bit sore."

Ryan Jeffers and Alex Avila will continue to split catching duties with Garver out. It sounds like there's a risk Garver may be out until mid-September.

Garver was placed on the 10-day injured list with a low-grade right intercostal strain Thursday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

Garver exited Wednesday's game against the Brewers with a right side injury, and the injury is apparently relatively serious since he'll be sidelined for at least 10 days. It's unclear whether he'll be able to return after spending the minimum amount of time on the injured list. Ryan Jeffers' contract was selected by the Twins in a corresponding move, and he'll start behind the dish Thursday.

Garver was removed from Wednesday's game against the Brewers with right side soreness, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The 29-year-old was seen clutching his right side after striking out during the sixth inning, and he was replaced by Alex Avila for the following frame. The Twins were already trailing 8-1, so the team may simply have been exercising caution while facing a significant deficit. Regardless, Garver should be considered day-to-day until the team indicates the severity of the injury.

Garver is not starting Tuesday against the Brewers.

Garver and Alex Avila have alternated starts for the Twins' last six games. Avila will take his turn behind the plate Tuesday. It's hard to say Garver deserves more at-bats than he's gotten lately, as he's followed up his .995 OPS from last season with a .463 mark through 58 plate appearances this year.

Garver is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Garver's OPS remains under .500 for the season, but he's at least shown some signs of progress lately, producing four of his seven hits on the campaign in his last three starts. Until he breaks out of the slump for good, however, Garver may have to cede two or three starts per week to Alex Avila, who checks in behind the plate Sunday.

Garver isn't in the lineup for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Royals.

Garver went 3-for-6 with two runs in the series finale against the Brewers on Wednesday, but he'll get a breather for the first portion of Saturday's twin bill. Alex Avila will start behind the dish, batting ninth.

Garver went 3-for-6 with two runs scored in Wednesday's 12-2 win over the Brewers.

Garver hit leadoff in Wednesday's contest, and that appeared to wake up his bat. In the second inning, the catcher got aboard with a single and scored on a Nelson Cruz single. Garver hit another single in the fifth and came home when Eddie Rosario drew a bases-loaded walk. Wednesday marked just the second multi-hit game of the season for Garver, who is batting .167/.280/.238 with a homer, two RBI and six runs scored in 12 contests.

Garver isn't in the lineup Monday against the Brewers.

Garver's bat has been cold to begin the season, and he'll take a seat for the second consecutive game Monday. Alex Avila will start at catcher once again, batting ninth.

Garver is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

After an 0-for-5 showing in Saturday's 9-6 loss, Garver's batting average has now slipped below .100 over 32 at-bats on the season. Alex Avila will catch Jose Berrios in the series finale and could see more work if Garver fails to break out of the offensive funk in the near future.