The Mariners have traded Mike Ford to the Giants in exchange for cash considerations, per a team announcement. Ford had been designated for assignment by Seattle. Ford has been added to the Giants active roster.
In a corresponding move, the Giants have optioned outfielder Ka’ai Tom to Triple-A, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Tom, 28, had made just one plate appearance for the Giants. Tom bounced around last season after the A’s got him from the Guardians as a Rule 5 pick. The Pirates claimed him off waivers when Oakland readied to send him back to Cleveland. He finished out the season with Pittsburgh, who released him over the winter.
In Ford, the Giants get a little more coverage for the absence of Brandon Belt at first base. Ford, like Tom, has bounced around over the past year. He has only appeared in the Majors with the Yankees, however, with whom he suited up in each of the past three seasons. In the past year, Ford has appeared in Triple-A for the Yankees, Rays, Nationals, and Mariners. Ford owns a career .199/.301/.422 line in 319 plate appearances.
The Giants. LOL
Come on now…we all know you were one that wore orange and black and cheered the Giants on in SD at Petco before Machado and Tatis Jr showed up lmao!!!! All SD fans did for years and that’s why we have always called Petco our second home stadium!!!!
Lol wuh?
It’s true. I almost feel bad for Padres fans. We used to roast them for years in their own ballpark.
I went down there to watch a game a few years back and was amazed how many Giants fans were there, It was like a home game. Went to a bar before the game and it was full of Giants fans. It was weird.
Ford once had a great six weeks back in the summer of the rocket ball when Alonso set the MLB rookie record for HRs, and every medium-range power hitter thought they had tapped into the spirt of Babe Ruth. From mid-August 2019 to the end of September, Ford slashed 379/.438/.818. He had done nothing prior to that and he’s done nothing since. Great eye, just not quite enough bat speed. I remember thinking during that hot streak that he’s now going to stick around for several more years, bouncing from team to team, with some club hoping he can recapture late 2019. He won’t.
Interesting assessment. Probably accurate, but you never know – the Giants have a track record of unearthing hidden gems in the roster churn process. Yaz, Dickerson, Wade Jr., etc were all nobodies that had been overlooked. But that’s probably not the case here. This move is all about replacing Belt for the duration of his absence. Giants needed a budget LH hitter who can play 1B, and this guy fits the bill.
I followed Ford for several years through the Yankees system. He seemed like he could hit, but the assessment was he was a Quad-A hitter. I really dislike that term because it basically says this guy is one of the best people at playing baseball in the world, but we’ve already determined he won’t be good enough for the very best league. It’s a frustrating term because the assessment usually turns out to be correct. I was happy for Ford when he finally got the call (after years of being passed over) and that he did something that would likely keep giving him additional shots. Ahh, maybe they were wrong I thought. I don’t think so. Perhaps he has another few weeks of magic in his bat that the Giants will help him find, but the 2022 ball is the exact opposite of the 2019 ball (and why do they keep changing the ball?) Ford’s a Princeton grad, went undrafted, worked hard to battle through the minors. I’d like to see succeed again, but my guess is he’ll eventually head off to Japan to a team looking for some power, and will likely make a good MLB coach is he goes that route.
While the Yankees are my team being from NY originally, the Giants are my adopted NL team as I’m now West Coast based. I’d like to see Ford help them, but I believe your final assessment is correct. Not every player the Giants pick up is a project they can help. He’s likely there to fill a gap until Belt returns. The fact he has MLB experience, is known as a good teammate, and once had a magical six-week run makes him a more intriguing pick for them.
Scott,
Unearthing hidden gems is a bit over an overreach. FZ has acquired some serviceable role players for cheap, but none of them has proven to be a star.
If you’re looking for unearthing hidden gems, go back to when 2/3 of the Phillies starting outfield was Shane Victorino (Rule 5 draft) and Jayson Werth (minor league free agent signing).
Bart,
Speaking of overreach, that could be what you did concerning Jayson Werth. First of all, the Phillies signed him to a ML contract, not a MiL one. It was reported at the time that he also received ML offers from the Cards and Padres that year.
And Werth wasn’t exactly an unknown quantity. After playing some with the Jays, he played close to 200 games over two seasons with the Dodgers. He hit 23 HRs for them and posted slightly above league average numbers.
He was an injury risk having missed the entirety of 2006 with injuries. But to suggest he was an unearthed hidden gem is significantly off the mark.
If this guy fits the bill, you’d better get a receipt. Last 2 years with the Yanks were dismal.
tad,
Speaking of overreach, I’d suggest your entire counter argument. And I notice how you ignored Shane Victorino, nice job.
He fits the bill in the sense that he’s a LH 1B. Brandon Belt is out for COVID and should be back in a week or two. I wrote above that I don’t see this aquisition as a diamond in the rough; he’s more of a way to tread water until Belt gets back.,
Bart,
Wow, touchy aren’t we? How is pointing out your mistake an overreach on my part?
Why would I mention Victorino? I was pointing out your inaccuracies regarding Jayson Werth. Victorino was indeed a nice find for the Phillies. But not germane to my point.
You said 2/3 of the Phillies OF were “unearthed hidden gems”. Except half of them weren’t. That’s an overreach. If you want to post that 1/3 of the Phillies OF was an “unearthed hidden gem” I won’t argue about it.
Scottn59c, I understand where you’re coming from, but for such a short period of time, why not bring up one of your young studs from the minors? Wouldn’t that be more positive for the morale of the young players?
tad,
Touchiness aside, I don’t agree with your argument. I hope you can live with that.
Nice. Avoid the specifics. Facts are facts, I can live with that.
Okay, we good.
You can’t be surprised by such responses when you yourself are one of the most aggressive babies Dr. Skull has ever met.
@Curly: I think they don’t want to start anyone’s clock or burn through options just for a week or two’s worth of action. They brought up Heliot Ramos for a game or two, but he bats from the right and is an OF.
Thank you, diff.
Lamonte coming back soon, he could play first, but I think this means Joc is going to IL
I am surprised how people try to find something positive about this guy. He is not good enough to be a bad player. They would be better off trying to bring back Willie McCovey, who now resides in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park.
The one positive about this guy is he’s not positive like the other guy.
I expect very little from Ford. You just don’t see productive guys traded for cash considerations. And with so many guys due back relatively soon, I also expect his tenure with the Giants to be short.
FORD
Free agent
Or
Released
Daily
Ka’ai Tom got his one at-bat and messed it up. That’ll teach him.
He’ll be dfa’d once belt is back if not sooner.
should’ve left that Ford in the Junkyard