The Nationals announced today that catcher Harry Ford has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester while fellow backstop Riley Adams has been reassigned to minor league camp. That seems to set the stage for Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas to be the club’s catching tandem at the beginning of the season.
The Nats have an interesting long-term catching mix. They acquired Ruiz from the Dodgers as part of the 2021 deal sending Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers. He and the club agreed to an extension in 2023, a deal which runs through 2030 and has club options for 2031 and 2032.
But since the start of 2024, he has poor defensive numbers and a .235/.266/.345 batting line. FanGraphs has considered him to be 1.3 wins below replacement level in that span. He was acquired and extended by the previous front office regime. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo was fired last year as the club’s rebuild failed to proceed as hoped.
Paul Toboni was hired to replace Rizzo. One of the first significant moves of his tenure was to trade reliever Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners, with Ford being the headliner of the return. Ford is one of the top catching prospects in the league. Seattle drafted him 12th overall in 2021 and signed him to a bonus of $4.4MM. With Cal Raleigh locked in as the catcher in Seattle, it made sense for the Mariners to put Ford on the trade block. Presumably, the Nats hope Ford is their primary catcher in the long term.
Ford’s major league track record consists of just eight games so far. He got into 97 Triple-A games last year and put up a .283/.408/.460 line. Even in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, that was 25% better than league average, by measure of wRC+. His defense was once considered questionable but he has made enough progress that he is expected by many evaluators to stick behind the plate for the long term.
Though Ford is still only 23 years old and lacking in experience, the Nats could have considered carrying him on the Opening Day roster due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He would have been PPI eligible if the Nats kept him on the active roster for long enough to earn a full year of service time. He could have then earned them an extra draft pick if he won Rookie of the Year or Most Valuable Player in his pre-arbitration seasons.
The Nats didn’t get a long look at him during Spring Training, as Ford joined the Great Britain team in the World Baseball Classic. He has only appeared in seven Grapefruit League contests, with a lackluster .214 /.353/.286 line in those.
For now, it seems the Nats will have Ford getting regular reps in the minors. That will give Ruiz a chance to continue as the regular catcher in the big leagues. Despite his recent struggles, it’s not out of the question for Ruiz to get back on track. He is only 27 years old and was able to be a league average hitter as of a few years ago.
If that doesn’t come to fruition, then it’s possible a time will come where Ford pushes for a regular role, which will get Ruiz bumped into being an overpaid backup. His contract isn’t especially onerous on an annual basis but there’s still quite a ways to go. He will make $5MM this year and next, followed by a salary of $7MM in 2028 and then $9MM in each of the final two years. That means he is still guaranteed $35MM over the next five years. The club options are valued at $12MM and $14MM, with no buyouts.
The timing of Ford’s eventual recall to the majors will impact his future earning power. He currently has 28 days of service time. If he spends about six weeks or more on optional assignment this year, he won’t be able to reach the one-year mark, which will push his path to free agency by a year. It also could impact when he qualifies for arbitration, depending on where the Super Two cutoff lands in future seasons.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Ford’s stock looks bright, which is something you don’t hear often.
That Studebaker kid looks good too, I see him having a long future in the game.
Do you think in the history of American roadways, an Edsel has ever collided with a Pinto?
For some of the younger players, it seems playing in the WBC might have been a nice experience but may have cost them the opportunity to be seen by their ball club, to their detriment. I know their team approved it but it’s hard to give a good first impression if you are not in camp.
Ford isn’t a new commodity though.
You don’t think all 30 MLB teams had some of their baseball people watching the WBC? Great opportunity to scout out potential new players and also evaluate how their current ones can do on the big stage.
Tres Barrera is another quality option.
Three of them seems like overkill
Then they trade him to Detroit for a Ford Mustang Shelby in pristine condition. Ruby red with white Stripes down the middle. (Same car as 60 in Seconds aka Eleanor)
I still can’t believe the Nats got Ford for a largely mediocre reliever for his career.
The Nats seriously undervalued Ferrer and the Mariners already have a plan to turn him into the next Arthur Rhodes.
Mariners looked at him and thought “more sliders and a sweepr”. We’ll see how that goes. It obvious that as much as Ford’s trade value wasn’t as high as many expected, the Mariners really like Ferrer and think they can get more out of him.
Ford is a life long backup catcher, if he even sticks there.
Completely agree Chopaholic. Even if he turns out to be the great reliever that M’s fans are hoping he is, getting a former 1st round pick who is a current top 100 prospect for a RP is pretty rare.
They wasn’t wild about Harry.
Ford needs to come to the realization that he will never get a starting gig as a catcher. He has not shown proficiency as a catcher. He needs to focus on hitting and learning to play CF.
I think theres a chance he can improve enough to be a regular ot semi regular bur pretty sure the industry isnt huge on that or else he would have been traded for more. If he doesn’t catch it will be a lot harder path to be a regular even if not impossible.
That’s pretty wild to say about a 23 year old.