"The move gives the Mariners, fresh off falling a win short of reaching their first World Series, a second left-handed reliever along with veteran Gabe Speier. Ferrer, 25, is a hard thrower with a fastball that averaged 97.7 mph, a walk rate that ranked in the 95th percentile and a 64.3% groundball rate that ranked in the 99th percentile last season. He finished with a 4.83 ERA in 72 appearances, but his 3.03 FIP suggests he was unlucky."
"The price to land Ferrer was high. Ford, a first-round pick in 2021, was 65th in the August top-100 prospect rankings from ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and fifth in the Mariners' loaded farm system. He batted .283 with 16 home runs and an .868 OPS in 97 Triple-A games last season. He made his major league debut in September and appeared in eight games, including one start behind the plate, and went 1-for-6 in eight plate appearances."
"The 22-year-old Ford's late promotion and limited action illustrated his reality: Despite his prospect status, Cal Raleigh, the American League MVP runner-up, is the Mariners' catcher for the foreseeable future, which made Ford an obvious trade candidate. Talent evaluators question whether Ford has the skill set to remain a catcher at the big league level, but recently hired Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni made bolstering the catcher position one of his top priorities entering the offseason."
Washington traded left-hander Jose Ferrer to Seattle for catching prospect Harry Ford and minor-league pitcher Isaac Lyon. Ferrer, 25, profiles as a hard-throwing left reliever whose fastball averaged 97.7 mph, posted elite walk and groundball rates, and showed a 3.03 FIP despite a 4.83 ERA in 72 appearances. Seattle adds another late-inning lefty behind Gabe Speier. Ford, a 2021 first-round pick, hit .283 with 16 homers and a .868 OPS in Triple-A, debuted in eight major-league games, and ranks among Seattle’s top prospects. With Cal Raleigh entrenched, evaluators question Ford’s long-term viability as a big-league catcher, and Washington prioritized upgrading its catching depth.
Read at ESPN.com
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