The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve reinstated outfielder TJ Friedl from the injured list and opened a spot on the roster by designating first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford for assignment.
Ford, 31, signed a pair of minor league deals with the Reds and opted out both times, only to eventually return on a big league deal earlier this month. The lefty slugger demolished spring training opposition at a .455/.486/.727 pace and hit .297/.381/.538 through 105 Triple-A plate appearances to begin the season. That eye-popping production didn’t carry over into the big leagues, however. In 62 plate appearances for Cincinnati, Ford hit .150/.177/.233 with a homer and a triple.
Ford’s 24.2% strikeout rate with the Reds is only a bit higher than average, but he’s hit too many grounders (44.4%) for a lumbering slugger and is making hard contact well below both his career norms and the league-average levels. He’s averaged 86.4 mph off the bat and put just one-third of his batted balls in play at 95 mph or greater.
While Ford has struggled considerably in his small sample of playing in Cincinnati, he’s just months removed from providing the 2023 Mariners with plenty of thump in the season’s second half. Ford tallied 251 plate appearances in Seattle last season, and although his 32.3% strikeout rate was an eyesore, it was an acceptable trade-off for his .228/.323/.475 batting line and 16 round-trippers in his 84 games with the club.
With a career .205/.298/.402 batting line, Ford is something of a prototypical three-true-outcomes player. He’s walked at a 10% clip, fanned in 26% of his career plate appearances and also homered in just shy of 5% of his MLB plate appearances. He has clear power and some plate discipline but at times gets too passive in the box. Ford’s contact rate on pitches in the strike zone is right in line with the big league average, and he’s only slightly below-average when swinging at balls off the plate. However, he’s swung at just 39.9% of the pitches he’s seen in his career, which checks in quite a bit shy of the league average (which typically clocks in around 47% in any given season).
The Reds will have a week to trade Ford, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. If Ford passes through outright waivers unclaimed, he’ll be able to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.
Come back to Seattle daddy
You can gladly have him back.
Thank god the Mike Ford eta comes to a merciful end.
Mike Ford is Brandon Larson. Will tear up AAA but can’t hit a beach ball in the Major’s.
He had a 798 OPS for the Mariners last year. He had a bad 60 at bats for your team.
He’s about to turn 32 and has hit .205 in 781 career MLB PA’s.
You prefer batting average over OPS?
Really?
“You prefer batting average”…It’s not an either or situation. You can actually have both batting average AND OPS, unless you’re one of the arrogants who feel that only new-age advanced metrics really matter.
OPS includes batting average fella. That’s why it’s a better stat than batting average alone.
“Batting average alone”..I distinctly and clearly said “have both” and not “batting average alone”. Reading comprehension is fundamental my friend. And if a cake contains eggs that doesn’t make it the same as eggs.
OPS uses both……
He is 32 and you act like the guy is turning the corner after last year. I think the Really? Should be for you and your stupidity
It’s 60 at bats from a bench guy. Let’s not pretend that’s why the Reds suck in 2024.
Big Mike we need you in Seattle to platoon with garver
Friedl back is huge for this struggling lineup
Young and Lodolo back on the pitchers side. Marte in a month – hopefully McClain in August. This team is slowly getting back to full strength
Trade him to Seattle for something, anything.
Starbucks gift card work?
Just taking the rest of the salary he is owed should work for Castellini.
Reds GM should be fired. To be way under 500 after last year +horrible offseason. I don’t even know who he is. They ruined a decent thing
You not only don’t know who the GM is, you also know zero about the reds quite obviously. They stink(yet again), but the gm doesn’t force a guy to get suspended for PED’s or cause key members of the lineup to spend the season on the IL
“I don’t even know his name but he should be fired!”
Wild.
I know his name it’s Nick Krall and he is right he should be fired.
But he does, or rather is supposed to, build an ENTIRE roster to guard against the inevitable injuries and such. Didn’t happen this season or last. I doubt it will under this front office and/or ownership.
No playoff series wins since 1995.
It’s not that easy. The Reds play in a very small market and have one of if not the most hitter friendly park outside of Coors. Free agents prefer to pitch elsewhere and they don’t have the money to overpay them to sign. Their international scouting department is a joke so they are rarely in play for the best prospects. Plus their drafting has always been meh. They are a true small market team that doesn’t try to excel in any one area like the Ray’s and their ownership seems content just being average while turning a small profit. What I can’t figure out is why Columbus (900k population) has a AAA team while both Cincinnati (310k) and Cleveland (360k) have MLB teams. Seems like a short move would help one of them financially. Maybe I am missing something…
All three cities have a greater metro pop in the 2.1-2.3 mil range. Difference is the actual city of Columbus is a little more spread out and contains more people while Cincinnati and Cleveland are smaller actual cities with many living in the suburbs.
Are you a Reds fan or just pretend to know what you are taking about? Until there is a hard salary cap small market teams will not be able to compete with the Dodgers, Yankees, etc. Someone who can afford a 100 million dollar payroll can’t compete with another team spending 4 times as much.Krall has done an excellent job with what he has to work with. One knot head taking steroids, a bunch of injuries, and some bonehead plays and Nick Krall is to blame? Why Mike Ford and Nick Martini are still on this roster is beyond me. Why is there no team in Columbus? No interest and a 17% tax rate. Cincinnati regularly has the best international signing classes in all of MLB. Do you even try to research anything you have an opinion on?
Hey Robby- the pitching isn’t the problem.
” Their international scouting department is a joke so they are rarely in play for the best prospecs”
Have you heard of a guy named Elly Cruz??? Most talented Inernational prospect in some time, Alfredo Duno? Ricardo Cabrera? Reds International prospect scouting department is the envy of about 2/3 of their peers,And improving!
Nick Krall tore the team down in 2021. He owns this mess. If you think The Red’s problems are limited to a couple of injuries and a suspension, you obviously don’t follow this team.
I’ve been following them since I was 4 years old. Saw my first game a Crosley field Yes, the Reds problems are limited to a knot head taking steroids, lots of injuries and signing at least two DOA veterans. Nick Krall didn’t tear anything down. It’s called turnover. Players come and go. If these guys were all healthy and playing we would be in first place by a wide margin. Go back under your bridge and comb out your beard TROLL.
“Should be fired..I don’t even know who he is”…You severely weaken and undermine your own point, by pointing out that you don’t even know who the principles are. If every GM that fans wanted fired actually was fired, there’d be no GMs left in MLB.
He is Nick Krall and I approved your message.
Ouch
The M’s have Harry Ford in AA at Arkansas as well as a guy named Packard. Their lineup often starts with Ford, then Packard.
DISCLAIMER: I am easily amused.
Hopefully they don’t turn out to be lemons!
Welcome back TJ !!! We missed you.
Mike Ford, AAAA star. Enough said.
Ford should be busy scheduling a summer tour of the beer leagues with Joey Gallo. Just waiting for the Nats to finally pull the chain on Gallo which is LONG overdue.
That’s why Ford stands for fix it again tony.
I thought it was Fixed Or Repaired Daily. At least according to my dad.
Mariners and Giants bidding war starts now
At this point in his career he should just accept the fact that he’s nothing more than a AAA player & nothing else.
All of you know the Reds will sign him again next week.
Mike. It may be time to coach or pick a different profession. You’re still young, good luck.
Word on the street in Bridgeport Chicago is that Mike is headed to the south side to play for the whitesox. Did I say play ? My mistake I meant he was going to be selling peanuts as a vendor in the stadium. Bhahahahahaha