SEATTLE — The Mariners have landed their coveted lefty reliever, but in doing so, they are also parting with their top catching prospect and now must address what to do at Cal Raleigh’s backup spot.
Seattle is sending Harry Ford, their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and No. 4 prospect, to the Nationals in exchange for hard-throwing lefty Jose A. Ferrer, who the club hopes will become the much-needed second southpaw in their ‘pen. Also going to Washington is right-handed pitching prospect Isaac Lyon.
TRADE DETAILS
Mariners acquire: LHP Jose A. Ferrer
Nationals acquire: C Harry Ford (No. 4 prospect), RHP Isaac Lyon (unranked)
The move comes one day before the industry descends upon Orlando, Fla., for the annual Winter Meetings, where more transactional activity across the sport is anticipated.
At first glance, it’s a curious decision by Seattle’s front office, given that Ford has long been believed to be a big part of the team’s longer-term plans — and because the club does not have any other catchers on its 40-man roster other than Raleigh now that veteran backup Mitch Garver is a free agent.
Yet the fact that the Mariners were willing to part ways at this stage suggests how much they value Ferrer — and perhaps that they believe they can backfill their backstop depth elsewhere.
Ferrer, 25, saw his role enhanced to the ninth inning at the end of last season after the Nats dealt Kyle Finnegan away at the Trade Deadline. The Dominican Republic native racked up 11 saves and compiled a 4.48 ERA (92 ERA+, where league average is 100). Those numbers don’t exactly stand out, yet underlying metrics suggest that there’s a lot for Seattle’s pitching brain trust to work with.
Per Statcast, Ferrer ranked in the 94th percentile in fastball velocity (97.7 mph average), 95th percentile in walk rate (4.9%), 93rd percentile in barrel rate (4.8%) and 99th percentile in ground-ball rate (64.3%). Those figures would be a significant improvement from Celeb Ferguson, who the Mariners acquired from the Pirates ahead of last season’s Trade Deadline to be their second leverage lefty to pair with Gabe Speier. However, Ferguson was hit hard down the stretch and saw his role diminish mightily in the postseason.
As for Ford, he played sparingly in his first taste of The Show, largely because he was the No. 3 catcher on a team in a pennant race — and their No. 1 was in the midst of a historic season. Ford played in just eight games down the stretch as a September callup, but he was on the Mariners’ postseason roster both against Detroit and Toronto in the ALDS and ALCS. Overall, he went 1-for-6 over a full September on the roster.
Ford was the Mariners’ top selection in 2021 as the club was emerging from its rebuild — and well before Raleigh blossomed into one of the sport’s best players. He quickly resonated with the fanbase for his lofty prospect status, but more so his leadership, relatability and philanthropic work away from baseball. In Washington, he’ll have a far bigger runway to more playing time.
