The Reds announced Friday that first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford was reassigned to minor league camp, indicating he won’t make the team’s Opening Day roster. Ford, who’d signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati now granted Ford his release from the club, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’s once again a free agent.
Ford couldn’t have done much more with his limited time this spring to earn his way onto Cincinnati’s roster. The 31-year-old slugger appeared in 10 games and tallied 35 plate appearances, during which he posted a torrid .455/.486/.727 slash with three home runs, a pair of walks and just three punchouts. He was always something of a long shot to make the roster given the Reds’ crowded infield, but it seems that even with injuries to Matt McLain and Edwin Arroyo, plus an 80-game PED suspension for Noelvi Marte, the Reds don’t feel he’s a good fit on the 26-man roster.
In 2023, Ford posted huge power numbers with the Mariners, slashing .228/.323/.475 with 16 homers in just 251 trips to the plate. He coupled that thump with an above-average 9.6% walk rate but an unsightly 32.3% strikeout rate. The former Yankee farmhand has long had plus power and questionable contact rates, so the 2023 season wasn’t out of the norm. However, last season also represented Ford’s longest and most productive stretch in the big leagues. He’d never reached even 200 plate appearances in a major league season prior.
The left-handed-hitting Ford hasn’t been allowed to face lefties much in his career but torched them in 24 plate appearances last year and has actually fared better against fellow southpaws in his career at large. It’s only 108 plate appearances, but he’s a .268/.343/.577 hitter versus lefties compared to .200/.303/.389 against righties (in a much larger sample of 611 plate appearances).
Ford’s big spring showing and huge power output in ’23 should allow him to catch on with a club looking for some left-handed pop. There’s a chance he could even land on a big league roster, though a minor league deal on a team with a clearer path to first base/designated hitter at-bats is a bit likelier.
They decided to go with a Chevy.
But the levee was dry.
Puns are a slippery slope my friend, keep using them and you’ll end up like me.
…NUDE…TAYNE.
Could I see a hat wobble? And a Flarhgunnstow?
Oyster’s my favorite
He will catch on with a team that needs some thump.
Or some good horsepower.
Maybe they have their eye on a different spring training opt out??
Fix Or Repair Daily… all jokes aside I own a Ford and a Lincoln.
First On Race Day.
Send him back to the Mariners. Raley is stinking up the joint.
Dude I swear to you, the poodle was in the box, yet not in the box, at the same time.
Vogelbach and Ford ahould share a dh. spot somewhere 🙂
As a lefty-lefty platoon?
My bad , I jumped on the thought , true , still though back to back in a lineup would be a heckuva tag team
If he would have made the team, there would have been massive backlash about not resigning Votto.
Ford on the move again. It’s time to maybe find a different career path.
I don’t see that there would’ve some massive backlash. Joey wanted regular ABs and playing time. Mike Ford would’ve been happy to ride the pine in MLB with occasional appearances. Much as I love me some Joey V, he wasn’t a good fit going forward. Thnx for the scores of great memories JV!
I’d ask, is any Reds fan begrudging CES’s playing time?
I think between 1B and DH playing time could be found for both CES and Votto.
Didnt Farhan and Seattle GM play hot potato with Ford a couple seasons ago? Why not in 2024?
He’d have secured a roster spot if not for Friedl’s injury, Martini can also play corner OF.
Mike did about all he could to make the Reds, but injuries require Krall to go in a different direction. Wish him the best.
Would have better stats than CES
I’ll take that bet
Padres could use some LH pop, would be a decent fit for him