San Diego Padres: The dream starting lineup for the 2024 season

8) Mitch Garver - C

Mitch Garver would be another external addition made by the Padres and he'd be one that would help beef up the lineup even more. Over the last six seasons, Garver has been one of the best offensive catchers in the majors when healthy, posting an .831 OPS and a 124 OPS+. The key words unfortunately, are when healthy as Garver has struggled to stay on the field during that stretch.

The 32-year-old was limited to just 87 games this past season for the Rangers, but he was as impactful as one could be in virtually half a season. He slashed .270/.370/.500 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI in just 344 plate appearances. He had a 134 OPS+, and wound up playing a key role in the postseason for Texas as their primary DH,

His bat was electric in 2023 and has been for most of that six year stretch, but injuries are a concern and the fact that he caught just 28 games this past season is also not great. While there are some clear red flags here, Garver won't be asking for a massive long-term deal with his health a major question, and the Padres would still have Luis Campusano around as a very capable backup.

The Padres watched Gary Sanchez perform at a pretty high level offensively even with his shortcomings defensively. Adding Garver whose offense is at a whole other level above Sanchez would make this team better.