Garver (ribs) is batting fifth and will serve as Texas' designated hitter against Arizona in Game 1 of the World Series.
Garver had to make an early exit from Game 7 of the ALCS after taking a fastball to the ribs, but he managed to escape without any serious injuries and will now return to the lineup to begin the Fall Classic. Garver has been a key piece to the Rangers' offensive success throughout the postseason, slashing .294/.368/.529 with two homers and 11 RBI.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: No fractures after HBP
Rotowire
Garver (ribs) did not suffer any fractures when he was hit by a pitch Monday in Game 7 of the ALCS, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
Garver took a Bryan Abreu fastball to the ribs in the top of the sixth inning and was removed from the game before his next at-bat, but he has avoided a serious injury and could be ready for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. The 32-year-old has posted an .898 OPS with two homers, two doubles and 11 RBI through nine games this postseason while serving as the Rangers' designated hitter.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Three hits, homer in win
Rotowire
Garver went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run, tallying two runs and two RBI in Sunday's 9-2 win over the Astros in Game 6 of the ALCS.
Garver had a key home run in the second inning that tied the game. He later added an RBI double in the eighth. The designated hitter had been struggling to get things going at the plate against Houston in this series, going 2-for-17 in his last five games, but perhaps Sunday's effort is a signal he is starting to turn things around at the plate. Garver is slashing .290/.353/.548 with two home runs, six runs and 10 RBI across 31 at-bats this postseason.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Batting third again in Game 3
Rotowire
Garver will again serve as the Rangers' designated hitter and bat third Tuesday in Game 3 of the ALDS versus the Orioles.
Garver hit a grand slam and tallied five total RBI in Game 2 as the Rangers earned an 11-8 victory to go up 2-0 in the best-of-five series. They'll look to finish off a three-game sweep of the O's on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas. Robbie Grossman is riding the pine.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Crushes grand slam in win
Rotowire
Garver went 2-for-6 with a grand slam, racking up two runs and six RBI in Sunday's 11-8 win over the Orioles.
Garver had his big moment in the fifth inning, when Jacob Webb took the mound in an attempt to keep the game close for the Orioles. The designated hitter's big fly pumped his team's lead up to seven runs and helped ensure that victory would not be relinquished. Sunday's home run also marked the first of his career in the postseason, during which he has slashed a modest .211/.250/.368 with two runs and five RBI across five games between the Twins and Rangers.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Batting third in Game 2
Rotowire
Garver will bat third as Texas' designated hitter in Game 2 of the ALDS at Baltimore on Sunday.
Garver didn't register a plate appearance in the Rangers' first three playoff games, but he'll join the starting nine Sunday for Game 2 against the Orioles. The 32-year-old finished the season in an 0-for-11 slump but posted a .276/.400/.494 slash line with six homers over 26 games in September and had an .870 OPS for the season.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Sitting out Game 1
Rotowire
Garver isn't in the Rangers' lineup for Game 1 of the ALDS against Baltimore.
Robbie Grossman has now started all three of Texas' playoff games as the designated hitter. Garver slashed .270/.370/.500 across 343 plate appearances in the regular season, but he went 0-for-11 over the final three games and has yet to register a plate appearance in the postseason.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Absent from lineup again
Rotowire
Garver is not in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Rays.
The Rangers are sticking with the exact same lineup that produced a Game 1 victory. That means Garver is again sitting out in favor of Robbie Grossman at designated hitter even as Grossman went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Tuesday (though he did draw a walk).
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Not in lineup for Game 1
Rotowire
Garver is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's AL Wild Card Series opener against the Rays.
Garver was the Rangers' primary designated hitter down the stretch but will begin Game 1 versus the Rays on the bench. Manager Bruce Bochy has decided he likes the matchup of Robbie Grossman against Tyler Glasnow better.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Not in starting nine
Rotowire
Garver will hit the bench Saturday against Seattle.
Garver hasn't caught a game since Sept. 2 but has served as the designated hitter for all but two games since that date. After a pair of hitless outings, he's seemingly due for a rest, so Robbie Grossman will take his spot in the lineup.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Perfect at plate Monday
Rotowire
Garver went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a 5-1 victory versus the Angels on Monday.
Garver was the only Texas player with multiple hits in the contest, and his sixth-inning solo shot gave the team its first lead. The veteran is working on a modest five-game hitting streak, during which he's batting an even .500 (8-for-16) with a pair of homers and five RBI. Garver has played in just 82 games this season, but he's been very productive with 19 long balls and 50 RBI along with a .281/.381/.525 slash line.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Returns to lineup, homers
Rotowire
Garver went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 15-5 win over Boston.
Garver, who was given a day off Tuesday amid a fallow stretch, returned to the lineup Wednesday and homered during Texas' six-run second inning that wiped out an early 4-0 deficit. It was his 18th home run in 78 games, the most homers and games played since the 2019 season. Garver was in a 1-for-19 stretch before Tuesday's off day.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Not starting Tuesday
Rotowire
Garver is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.
The move to the bench snaps a run of 19 straight starts for Garver, during which he posted an .877 OPS with five home runs, 10 RBI, 12 runs and a 14:16 BB:K. Robbie Grossman will serve as the designated hitter Tuesday while Evan Carter starts in left field.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Batting cleanup Friday
Rotowire
Garver (foot) is serving as the DH and batting cleanup Friday at Cleveland.
Garver was lifted from Thursday's series finale against the Blue Jays after fouling a ball off his left foot, but X-rays came back negative and he won't miss a contest, serving as the designated hitter for Friday's series opener versus the Guardians. Jonah Heim will do the catching for the visiting Rangers.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Exits Thursday's game
Rotowire
Garver was removed from Thursday's game against the Blue Jays due to left foot soreness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Garver fouled a ball off his foot in the fifth inning and was struggling to run to first base later in the at-bat. The severity of the issue is unclear, though there should be more clarity after he undergoes imaging.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
A point I may not have stressed enough when I brought up Garver in Waiver Wire articles past is that there's almost no overstating his upside in his current role. His start Wednesday was his 25th in the Rangers' past 26 games, which is itself enough to make a catcher-eligible player a Fantasy stud, but this particular catcher-eligible player has a better home run rate than Will Smith for his career. Garver added another home run Wednesday, his ninth (to go along with a .287 batting average) during that 26-game stretch, and at this point, it's not unreasonable to start him over struggling studs like Sean Murphy or even J.T. Realmuto.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Championship pickups
Rotowire
Playing time has gone from a weakness to a strength for Garver so quickly that much of the Fantasy-playing world hasn't caught up to it yet. He has started 24 of the last 25 games for the Rangers, making him the No. 1 catcher during that time, and that's enough for you to consider starting him over underachievers like J.T. Realmuto and Sean Murphy right now.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
It's true that Mitch Garver has burned us more often than not in the years since he homered 31 times for the Twins, but the work he's done beginning with Jonah Heim's injury in late July has already made 2023 his best season since then. The clincher was his 4-for-4 two-homer performance Sunday, giving him a .316 (30 for 95) batting average, 10 homers and 1.083 OPS since the start of August. Of course, Heim is back now and has been for a couple weeks, but Garver's performance in his absence has earned him the right to DH most days. Between that and catcher, he has started 17 of the Rangers' past 18 games. Naturally, it's his catcher eligibility that makes him most valuable in Fantasy. Most players at that position aren't playing as much as he now is, which is to say nothing for the productivity. Unless you have a true stud catcher, Garver probably represents an upgrade.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Lights up former team
Rotowire
Garver went 4-for-4 with two homers, four RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 6-5 victory over Minnesota.
Garver mashed against his former team, collecting his first four-hit game since April of 2019 as a member of the Twins. His three-run blast in the first put the Rangers on the board, and he later added a solo shot in the seventh that helped Texas regain the lead. Garver has been on a power surge since the start of August with a .313 average, 10 homers, 20 RBI and 16 runs scored in 95 at-bats.
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Rangers' Mitch Garver: Power surge continues
Rotowire
Garver went 1-for-2 with two walks, a solo home run and a second run scored in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Mets.
All the scoring came late, as Garver broke open a scoreless tie by taking Drew Smith deep in the seventh inning before scoring what proved to be the winning run on an Ezequiel Duran single in the top of the ninth. Garver has gone yard four times in his last six games, all solo shots, and he's slashed a stellar .317/.404/.659 through 23 games in August with eight of his 13 homers on the year and 16 of his 36 RBI. Even with Jonah Heim healthy, the Rangers will continue finding room for Garver in the starting nine as long as he's locked in, either at catcher or DH.
