The Rays have acquired first baseman Mike Ford from the Yankees for cash considerations and a player to be named later, both clubs announced. Ford has been optioned to Triple-A Durham. To clear 40-man roster space, Tampa Bay transferred righty Tyler Glasnow from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.
Ford has appeared in the majors in each of the past three seasons. The left-handed hitter showed plenty of offensive promise as a rookie, when he raked at a .259/.350/.559 clip with twelve home runs over his first 163 MLB plate appearances. Ford, whom the Mariners had selected in the Rule 5 draft the previous year but returned in Spring Training, looked like a potential long-term contributor in the Bronx after that strong debut. He hasn’t been able to follow up on that over the past two years, though.
In 156 plate appearances since the start of 2020, Ford has mustered just a .134/.250/.276 line with five homers. With Luke Voit tearing the cover off the ball last year en route to an MLB-best 22 homers, Ford didn’t have much of an opportunity for regular playing time. Voit’s injury issues this season opened up some recent run for Ford, but the 28-year-old didn’t take advantage. He’s hit just .133/.278/.283 in 72 plate appearances this season with a fairly significant bump in his strikeout rate. That led the Yankees to designate him for assignment last weekend.
Ford’s MLB career is still a collection of fairly small samples. He’s tallied just 319 total plate appearances at the highest level, with a resulting .199/.301/.422 line. Ford has a much bigger body of work at Triple-A, where’s hit a robust .268/.359/.501 in parts of four seasons. With a quality minor league track record, a pair of minor league option years remaining and a low acquisition cost, the Rays felt Ford was a worthwhile pick-up.
Ji-Man Choi has hit very well in limited time between a pair of injured list stints this season. He returned to the lineup this week and figures to assume much of the playing time at first base. Tampa Bay has primarily rotated Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena between DH and the corner outfield this year. Ford’s likely being brought on as an optionable depth player, and he adds another lefty bat to a first base/DH mix that also includes righties Yandy Díaz and Mike Brosseau.
Glasnow’s move to the 60-day IL is unsurprising. The 27-year-old went on the IL this week after an MRI revealed a partial tear of his UCL. He’s hoping to rehab the injury and avoid Tommy John surgery, but he told reporters after the diagnosis his goal was to make it back for a potential playoff run. Regardless of whether he’ll be able to return at the tail end of the regular season or during the postseason, it never seemed plausible he’d be back within two months.
Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reported that the Rays had acquired Ford shortly before the official announcement. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) first reported Ford would be optioned to Triple-A.
Watch the Rays transform Ford into a two-to-three tool player and sign him to 4 years/$5M or something and get 11 WAR from him over that time frame.
Sounds about right.
Well…at least I will have heard of him.
This definitely sounds like another great move by Ca$hman. Yes, expect Ford to become an all-star after signing that 4 year, $5 million dollar deal. No reason why he can’t. Smh
OK, Nostradamus.
There is one reason why Ford may not “become an all-star”, @Y4L.
That being: he’s just simply not very good.
Best wishes to him. But I understand completely why Cashman moved him.
Cashman should have been gone a long time ago…
Yankees let one of their few potential sources of lefty power get away — worse he goes to their smartly run division rival.
Ford absolutely has power, but he’s a terrible hitter overall. If they can teach him to swing at the right pitches and be selective, then he could easily be a very useful lefty bat.
2-3 tool. What are you trying to say he can’t run. How could you even think that. That man is definitely light on his feet.
A Ford that can’t run. (Found On Road Dead) — c’mon.
First On Race Day.
Fix or repair daily
Fix and repair daily
Fard?
FARD
afsooner02
Allow myself to introduce myself…..
If you had said ‘please’, with the correct usage, I would have assumed you were a man of wealth and taste.
“You know what they say Ford stands for, don’t ya? It stands for ‘Fix It Again Tony’. – Dale Gribble
No. That’s a FIAT.
“A fee what?” – Also Dale Gribble
Exactly right
Oh yeah……gonna be hating this when he crushes one October 1 to eliminate the Bombers. Ugh
Rays being Rays. They found good use of Ji-Man Choi after the Yankees released him. NY wants the big power protypical firstbaseman which these two guys aren’t. Wish Ford all the best.
Someday, Cashman will have to explain what fueled his ill fated decision to let Choi — a better 1st baseman than anyone currently in the Yankee organization — go.
@ctyank, Bird was just as good and younger. He never recovered from injury and Choi has been productive but then Cash got Voit. Not like Choi is some missing link from the last 3 seasons.
Doubt it. A lifetime .199 hitter. He’s useless
Lifetime hitter = under 300 plate appearances. No issue with the Yanks trading him, but he’s 28 and not a lot of PA’s. Worth a shot for the Rays. They are the best at finding the gems.
Should have been Tyler Wade. He’s next imo…
Long live, Mike Ford.
Wow!
The rare rival trade. Ford now gets a chance to play with a good team. He’ll probably do well.
A good team with nothing to show for it in its brief and underwhelming history as a franchise.
But leaving a team with a long history that will be sitting out the playoffs!!
Maybe…I can live with that. I’ll enjoy seeing TB flop, yet again, if they can even manage to get into the playoffs themselves. Good luck doing that without your ace.
Much as a hate Boston, at least they’ve actually won something noteworthy.
TB….not so much.
We have two consecutive seasons of 7 game leads on the New York Bankees to show for it. But hey that world series you won 20 years ago was probably nice
It was! And the previous 26, too!
The Rays have won nothing ever. Congrats on the “better record than the Yankees through 60 games” title two years in a row though! The Rays are a joke and their inevitable collapse is gonna be hilarious to watch again, hopefully on the biggest stage possible.
I can’t believe this is what you came back with, yandy. Wow. Talk about settling for mediocrity. The TB Way!!
12 years ago
I hope those 27 championships console you at night when you cope with the fact that a team playing in a warehouse with 1/4 of your payroll has been smoking you for the better of 2 years so that you don’t have to keep beating your wife or discharging firearms in her general direction
Lol 2009 was 20 years ago already? How about learning how to do basic math before writing your awful takes. You guys have Arozarena who is also a domestic abuser, the Rays don’t care any more about the integrity of their players than the Yankees do lmao get real
Yandy here is the definition of toxic baseball sentiment, holy cow. Huge Yankees fan here who admires the way the rays build their team, even when it pisses me off to lose to them. I can be a fan and not have weird, mean-spirited hatred for another team. Novel concept!
What’s Chapman?
Yessir.
Really don’t care much for the damn Ray’s.
& they must drive Hal absolutely bonkers. Ya know?
That being acknowledged, ya gotta tip your cap to ’em. They have been really good at figuring out their roster & development for awhile now.
Good squad.
Worthy opponent.
But I certainly do not “hate” them, their fans, or their history.
Randy just cares about his daughter not getting any of that money he sends down to Mexico. His ex is the real villain, let’s be real here. Also he hit her father, not her.
Arozarena got in a fist fight with another dude who was mistreating his kid. He didn’t randomly beat up his defenseless girlfriend. There is quite a difference there.
intotheblack: How many of those “previous 26” (27 in total) were YOU alive for?
Yanks fans typically feel inadequate about themselves so they wag the 27 around as if they played a part. It’s quite amusing really.
So when you come after the Sox for their last place finishes amongst the WS victories with the Yanks always compete argument, it’s okay there? The spin is making me dizzy. I guess it’s tough coming up with good excuses year after year. Respect to the Rays for always competing with limited funds. They are fun to watch.
Tell us about what it’s like being a yankee fan grandpa… did you watch Babe Ruth play?
I absolutely love when people talk about the past when they say the rays have won nothing and the Yankees have 27 rings. Like does anyone actually care what any team did years ago? Real cool that’s awesome. I would rather have a competitive team every year and be going and watching exciting thrilling games than being the d backs or orioles and then win a World Series one year and then what? Talk about it for the next 6 years like get a life. Some salty Yankees fans in here because they’ve been absolutely horrible this year. I don’t care if the rays win a World Series or not I just enjoy having a competitive team every single year
I believe you do care if the Rays win the WS bc it’ll be their first. If the Yankees can’t win it, I hope the Rays or Padres get it.
It is a bit bizarre realizing that on the Yankees 26 man roster they have one World Series ring (two if you count Chapman’s with the Cubs, i suppose). I have to believe that if George were still around Cashmam probably wouldn’t be. There is no way he would accept one championship in the last 20 years.
The problem with the Yankees mini-dynasty of the late 90’s is teams had no answer for the big spending juggernaut. Today the game has adjusted enough that merely spending big money isn’t enough to guarantee a championship
Perhaps that’s the you feel – “disrepected”. The day any team underestimates an opponent is the day they stop competing.
“mini-dynasty”?
Sir.
That was a full on dynasty. The likes of which odds are against seeing again. That Yanks squad were consistently & overwhelmingly dominant.
Cane through in the big games, too.
So.
User name checks out anyway.
The Yankees won like half of their World Series before black people were even allowed to play and when there was like 15 teams in the league. Good job grandpa
@Yandymania OK. I guess those don’t count then. Neither did the ones many other teams have won before the early 90s since only four teams made the playoffs. Let’s just erase baseball history alltogether and start a new book today.
The point is no one living has seen even 20 of those 27 yankee titles
Who TF cares about hundred year old history when talking about 2021 teams…? Only stupid pathetic Yankee fans who have an inferiority complex toward the Rays…
The Yankees could never win like Tampa. And that has to drive Hal insane. You too, If you’d actually admit it
A glance at the other 7 American League teams during the Yankee heyday is revealing. The Senators’ incompetence after 1925 inspired aphorisms. The Browns only won in 1944, when one-limbed players were a thing. The A’s had a brief run 1929-1931 & then dismantled roster for 40 years. The White Sox were shamed after the 1919 scandal & disappeared, briefly resurfacing once, in 1959. Shall I mention the Red Sox 75 year curse? That leaves Cleveland, who managed 1948 & 1954. Oh, I forgot Detroit, they had 2 or 3 good years. The Yankee Dominance was built on top of a league of cream puffs. Like that kid in 8th grade gym class who had flunked a couple grades & beat us at everything.
Good luck to Mike Ford, will he be another Greg bird? Or turn into a Ji-man Choi ?
Ji-man Bird?
Jr. Birdman.
Birdman Choi.
In bird culture, this is considered a dick move.
I love this comment.
Bird always had debilitating injuries. Ford doesn’t.
Im seeing mike jacobs. Have some success. Then fizzle. Has a very wide swing that they will figure how to pitch to him.
next premier slugger
Nice to see a guy get a shot instead of wasting his career in the Yankees system
Watch Ford become Carlos Pena 2.0 in Tampa Bay
It’s fun to listen to crybabies who hate the Yankees talk about baseball. Lol.
The Skankees have won 1 World Series in the last 21 years. Might as well say in the last 22 years because their not winning this year either.
So why are their fans so knowledgeable?
Why don’t you answer that yourself, Einstein? Use some of that third grade cognition you are demonstrating.
Seriously, I’m sorry to sound mean, but have someone read your post and help you understand why it sounds stupid. Also, no one said anything about being knowledgeable. Just that it is funny to read dumb comments from haters.
“Skankees”. That’s a good one, yo.
Inferiority complex
If you paid 4x more than your division foe per W, you should be embarrassed to still not be able to beat them
Tiger’s Blood
Good chance it’s going to be 3 decades.
Tears from the Yankees haters are hilarious. Seeing their jealousy never fails to put a smile on my face.
Haters? I don’t give a flying fig newton about the Yankees. I like watching well-played baseball, and they are really bad, and really BORING.
It’s sad when people hate the Yankees more than they love their own team….
Here comes Ji-man Ford!
Happy for Ford. Watch the Rays turn him into an all star
lol; the League has figured him out. Yes, like Greg Byrd.
Too many injuries is what did Byrd in. When he first came up he had that sweet swing and seemed to have much more mobility. He lost his swing and seemed to be leery of any situation that could potentially provide an injury. It really was too bad because when I saw him play in the lower minors he reminded me of Mark Grace. I never thought he would hit 30hr a season but I figured he could be a nice throwback to the 1b I enjoyed watching as a kid like Will Clark, Mark Grace and Don Mattingly. High avg. on base guys who hit clean up and cleared the bases with a standup double instead of always swinging for the fences. I’m sorry but I am sick of the 3 outcome 1b that seem more prevalent today. I really thought it was going to be exciting watching Byrd for at least a decade. You knew he was toast when injuries took out almost his complete first couple of years. The Yankees did hold on to him far too long. Cashman seems to get attached to the potential prospects possess and never envisions the possibility they could lose it.
Someone make sure Mike Piggy Ford knows he is not allowed to eat Wander Franco please
Wherever you tried to go here crash and burned like your takes. Try again.
Oh burn you got me big guy
sick comeback
Rays will turn him into a great platoon player with Choi at 1B. Great opportunity for Ford to get a fresh start and show that 2019 was not a fluke as well. Can’t wait for his first game winning hit versus the Yankees, you know it’s coming!
Nah. They’re turn him into a lights-out relief pitcher…
Ford would have been better in Detroit….Nevermind.
nice
The Rays have cash?
Yes. He is their manager.
ha!
Cash AND a player to be named…that means a kid in the DSL and one dollar and eighty-four cents….
I’m sure Ford didn’t cost more than a bit of loose change. The Yankees never had much faith in him. That’s why they left him available for the rule 5 and brought in Voit, when they both had comparable minor league stats. Ford was always the replacement for Bird when he was moving up. Not sure why the Yankees didn’t just keep Cooper. They gave him up for basically nothing and he seems to be doing well in Miami. If Bird can stay healthy I am sure he will figure it out as well. A good chance former Yankee 1b prospects could be starting for 3 other teams this year while the Yankees hope Voit stays healthy or Gittens proves to be ready way early.
Just like that he’s a 5 time All-Star.
Always thought he had some potential, Tampa can probably forgive him out and turn him into a nice player
Figure*
Now Ford will turn into a 3 war player who continually hurts the Yankees in key division games
And they turn him into a lights-out reliever
Maybe it’s just me, but I find inner-divisional trades so interesting
Can your rival crack this guy where you failed? In a way, the first team is saying “I don’t think he can” just by sending him to a division foe. A chip on the shoulder has to form sometimes. But a division foe is also the team that likely has scouted him most. Those roster games during a full 162 are so interesting to me. Long term effects can be so impactful
BeforeMcCourt:
Excellent post. and a great point about the scouting aspect. Although I doubt that the Rays will turn him into a 3 WAR player. Ford has power going for him, but it seems to me that Yankee Stadium would be better for his power numbers than Tropicana Field.
Nice story. Had a great month back in late 2019. Hasn’t hit since.
Every time the Rays acquire a player, a lot of people seem to think that guy is going to break out. Why do so many fans believe the Rays can work magic, and turn mediocre players into very good ones?
No one has more respect for the Rays organization than I do, but sometimes they make deals that are simply about depth, and sometimes minor league depth at that. The Rays may be an elite club when it comes to getting the most out of players, I think so, but they can’t make an AS out of every average, or below average player that they get.
I don’t care if Yankees traded Ford to the Rays. I wish him luck and hope he does great. TB has zero pressure. Some players can’t play in NY but it doesn’t mean they don’t belong in the MLB. Good luck Ford you just couldn’t handle the pressure cooker in the Bronx.
mlbnyyfan:
I didn’t mean to imply that Ford does not belong in MLB. I was speaking generally, in that. every time the Rays acquire a player, I see posts claiming the Rays will turn the guy around. My point was, that isn’t going to happen every time.
I don’t root against players, even those on rival teams. I’m with you, I hope Ford does well, Not only that, though I’m not fan of either team, I would root for the Rays over the NYYs in the division race, and PS. I just believe the Rays don’t have the super-power to turn every guy they get into a 3 WAR player.
its almost like bellichek in the past .. those trades always seem to work in favor of the patriots … look at collins. amazing with the patriots and horrible with all the other teams he went to.
I don’t see a spot for him to play in TB either. They’ve got a lot of corner/DH types already. Although I’ve always liked Ford’s potential.
The cash consideration Yankees getting does that increase the money Yankees have under the tax? Last time I heard Yankees have only about 4 million under tax. Hopefully this is the first move of many for Cashman.
mlbnyyfan:
I could be wrong, but I don’t think the cash considerations have anything to do with the tax. Ford’s prorated salary is subtracted of course, but I don’t think this deal will have any impact.
Very true Ford was making the minimum. Now let’s find a taker for Stanton maybe the Angels. Now that Pujols is gone
How many bad ones before stepping down?
The Yankees free up the remainder of Ford’s salary for CBT purposes (maybe $300K)? Tampa probably didn’t pay much at all to acquire Ford ($50-$100K max) but this amount doesn’t impact the CBT. The only amount that impacts the CBT is his remaining 2021 salary so this deal isn’t a big help to NY when it comes to making CBT space for a mid-season acquisition, they need to trade a player with a $5M+ per year salary to really impact their CBT spending room. Trading either Britton or Chapman would free up a lot of cash but I don’t think the Yankees are at the point (yet) where they’d consider doing so.
A Chapman trade {again} would be super interesting –
I don’t think they’d get a bite on Britton’s tab
A Lh ready young bat with some control would be a nice piece for Chapman
No it doesn’t afaik. Otherwise, you can easily manipulate selling minor leaguers to add payroll space.
I’m concerned that by taking on Ford’s Minimum Salary, the Rays may go over their budget. I mean, consider the Luxury Tax implications.
The yankee fans need either fed or diaper change. Buncha babies.
I do not know why Cashman traded Ford to Tampa Bay? You mean teams like the Diamondbacks who lost 22 in a row could not use Ford?
NY_Yankee:
Not that the D’backs aren’t having a nightmare season, they are, but the 22 straight losses are road losses, not a consecutive losing streak. Their current losing streak is really bad though, 13, in danger of growing to 14.
Does this mean Yankees are packing it in?
I know it s early, and a minor trade, but . . .Don’t see any reason they needed to trade him, since he had options. They trade him to a division rival who’s in first place??? Make no sense otherwise. Unless they needed the cash.
Once Voit comes back and Gittens goes back down there was going to be no opportunity for Ford get AB’s at AAA. Plus he was sucking wind at SWB too.
@Dennyd The Yankees were never high on Ford. They needed to make room for another player on their 40-man roster. If that wasn’t an issue, he’d be in their minors. Rays probably presented the best offer so they took it.
Don’t get it. At all. First, obv, need starting pitching IF the Rays trade. Second…there is no dearth of hitting prospects at the minor league level. Brujan? Lowe? Wander? Any of them can hit; furthermore, if he were to be promoted, he delays the major league development of these guys. The Rays FO knows a hellie lot more than I do, but I don’t get it.
Mike Ruth getting traded for cash, can’t say I expected anything less from a top Yankees prospect, Brett Gehrig might get released soon too
.280-20 home runs incoming
I’m generally a Cashman fan but keeping Ford, Estrada and Kriske on the 40 while and bringing my Odor and Bruce into the fold while letting Whitlock get picked is about the worst GM play he’s ever made.
He’s made worse deals by orders of magnitude.
Except for Ellsbury I don’t feel that most of his other moves where very shortsighted. He’s gotten bit hard on injuries (Pavano, Gianni, Hicks, Stanton, Severino) but at the time they were equitable deals. And until this year his record on non-star talent and international signings has been quite good.
…Kei Igawa. Resigning A-Rod, although I don’t think he had much say in that over ownership.
Igawa is a fair criticism but ultimately he had little effect on the roster and only cost $’s when the CBT wasn’t such a big deal. I do think he wanted to walk away from ARod or at least let him explore the market before negotiating.
Taking on Stanton’s albatross contract. Signing Hicks to a 7-year extension. Trading Mike Lowell for Ed Yarnall, Mark Johnson and Todd Noel.
Stayed tuned with the LeMahieu and Cole deals.
LeMahieu will turn 38 in the last year of his contract and already his OPS+ is down 85 points from last years’.
Cole has been great — but how will the new obsession with foreign substances affect his performance? Knock wood that he doesn’t hurt himself trying to torque up with a ball he can’t grip. That’s a lot of money owed to one player.
make that “last year’s.”
Stanton relegated to DH is bad but the Marlins are also kicking in $30M to help soften the blunt.
DJL’s contract was always a 3-year deal designed to be five for luxury tax purposes. I firmly believe the Yankees will cut him if he’s unproductive in his next to or last year.. There’s enough season left to turn it around.
It’s easy to cherry-pick poor transactions and be doom-and-gloom for every expensive player. I sense some bitterness from you but I’m happy being a fan of a team that is willing to reinvest and trying to compete and win every year. It doesn’t always work out but the efforts count in my book.
Brian owes you a Christmas card.
Seems odd ….
This whole 26 WS deal from Hankee fans is amusing. My response is “the French won their share of wars way back when and who cares?”
They do and that’s about it. The rest of us don’t care. To be honest, you Hankee fans remind me of the French. Nobody likes you and you don’t even like each other. I worked in a baseball friendly bar a while back and noticed during Hankee vs Red Sox games that Hankee fans would rather seek out and try to give a Red Sox fan grief than seek out and commiserate with their own people. What a crappy sports existence you creeps live. You are not fans of baseball, you are fans of rooting your own horn. Mental masturbation at someone else’s expense. What a steaming pile you all are!
So you’re saying you don’t like Yankee fans?
The 09 world series was a joke. Yankees just blew their load $ and have never recovered since.. Bunch of juice heads Cano a rod melky petitie cervili probably more to just can’t think off top of my head. Mlb always turned a blind eye to the Yankees. Funny how once they leave then they’re caught. Wonder where they learned it from. Mlb tried to make a rod the scapegoat. Nowadays they’re a bunch of body builders who can only hit homers with the worst baseball iq in the majors. If they win 90 games they should consider it a great season
Apart from Stanton, which Yankee looks as much like a bodybuilder as Yandy Diaz?
The first MLB player ever suspended was the Rays player Alex Sanchez.
Yanks lost ‘09 game-1 to Cliff Lee, he went 4-0 lol
Rebounded with a spectacular clutch AJ Burnett, before took the series in 6, Andy P also went 4-0.
AJ’s performance, made contract, worth it imo and CC wasnt at his best here, but couldnt have done it w/o him, and CC’s 7 year 161M one of the best investments in Yankee history.
Keep crying! CC will retire HOF in Pinstripes, than Brewers’ uniform. Btw, how are the Brews? Have they won, like ever? Answer: Zero Ws titles and NL pennants. Huh,Guess money does help! Small market inferiority complex is my favorite, it’s all big bad nyy’s fault, never mind the parity. Always something complain about, be complainin if NYY dynasty, this century too =) Go Nyy
It always seems like the Rays can lose their absolute best players yet still produce a winner. They’re in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, possibly the very toughest; and yet here they are, doing just fine without the likes of Tyler Glasnow, Nick Anderson, and some of their key guys struggling at the plate like Brandon Lowe, Manuel Margot and Kevin Kiermaier.
It might seem like always, but as recently as 2016 they were in last place, 25 games out. They do probably the best job of any team in terms of getting performance on the cheap, but between 2013 and 2019 there were five years when they didn’t make the playoffs and four years when they had a losing record.
And let’s be clear, they haven’t won anything
If you’re playing baseball to make a lot of money, you go to the deep pocket teams, we all know who they are at this point. If you want to play baseball well and be on a winning team, you go to the small pocket teams where they will build an organization that gets the most out of their players. For example, Tampa. So if Ford has talent, maybe he does well there. They have a pretty good eye. If he turns out to be a doofus, he will be sent to a new home. While I think it would have been cool for the Rays to beat the Dodgers, they still look solid this year. Boston is on their heels but they’re not the better team. Yet. What makes the Red Sox dangerous is Houck and Sale and Duran and Casas. If those four guys are firing in Boston at the end of the year, look out. This could be a fun season.
I think the team with the most World Championships in this century is Boston, followed by the Giants, and they’re not “small pocket” teams.
PTBNL… Wander Franco? LOL
LOL
Tampa almost ended up getting Ray Chevrolet !!