The 41-year-old Borders, the MVP of the 1992 World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays, hit .189 with one home run and five RBIs in 19 games with the Mariners this season. In 36 games with Triple-A Tacoma, he hit .255 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

"If we could have gone with three catchers, he would have been a guy I would have loved to have here all year," Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. "Who is to say down the road that he doesn't come back here, but given an opportunity to get into the playoffs, we all feel very good about that."

Garbe, the Twins' first-round pick in 1999, hit .201 with three homers and 35 RBIs this season with Double-A New Britain. He was assigned to Double-A San Antonio by the Mariners.

Veteran Henry Blanco has had to catch the majority of games this year because of rookie Joe Mauer's injured left knee. Mauer has been on the disabled list since July 16 and, although Minnesota may have him back this year, the team is not counting on him to catch.

"We all know our injury situation," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We need a veteran out there to control the game at the end of the game and help Henry out."

Gardenhire expects Borders to arrive in Minnesota on Wednesday, when the Twins continue their series with the Texas Rangers.