Top Seattle Mariners Prospect Harry Ford Named Potential Trade Candidate
There's one day left until the MLB Winter Meetings kick off on Dec. 9 and continue through Dec. 12 in Dallas.
The Seattle Mariners, despite having clear and outlined needs in the infield have been relatively quiet on the acquisition front.
Aside from reports the Mariners have had exploratory trade talks and have interest in a variety of free agents, they've made no major league additions. Aside from a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for former Seattle prospect and Washington native Austin Shenton.
Many fans and media have hopes that the Winter Meetings will be where a deal finally materializes for the Mariners. And the club has two main groups that are likely to garner the most interest at the negotiation table.
Seattle boasts the best starting rotation in baseball and a lot of mock trades in the offseason have included one of the five pitchers. But a lot of those hypothetical deals seem don't seem to be aware of how highly the club sees its rotation. Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto called the notion of trading a starting pitcher "plan z" on the how the team would prefer to get better on the second-to-last day of the regular season.
A report from the Seattle Times' Adam Jude said that Seattle would prefer to trade from its stacked farm system. The Mariners' minor leagues have eight prospects in Baseball America's top 100 and five in MLB Pipeline's top 100.
And a recent story from MLB.com's Daniel Kramer listed one of those top 100 players as a trade piece for Seattle at Winter Meetings.
Kramer named catcher Harry Ford as a trade candidate to watch during Winter Meetings. Kramer had the following assessment on Ford:
Catcher Harry Ford (Seattle’s No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline) is entering his fourth pro season and faces a logjam behind Cal Raleigh, making him the most logical piece to move. But pitchers Logan Evans (No. 10) and Brandyn Garcia (No. 16) could also draw big interest after taking significant steps forward last year. Overall, their farm system jumped from No. 18 to No. 9 in Pipeline’s midseason re-ranks last year.
That said, finding a trade partner for prospects -- regardless of upside -- can be more challenging in the offseason than at the Trade Deadline because they’ll have to align on each other’s needs. For example, while the Red Sox, Orioles, Phillies and Cubs possess players that’d be strong fits, each intends to contend in 2025 and are almost certainly seeking MLB talent in return.
Ford hit .249 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs and stole 35 bases in 116 games played with Seattle's Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers.
.@harry_ford blasts his first home run of the year 💣 pic.twitter.com/SZ5gxfbq6t
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) April 24, 2024
The logjam at catcher goes beyond just Raleigh. Mitch Garver is under contract through 2025 with a mutual option for 2026. Unless the Mariners deal Garver, there's not room on the roster for Ford as even the backup for at least one, maybe two seasons.
Other top prospect Cole Young is set to begin the season in Triple-A and seems to be Seattle's long-term answer at second base. And the potential of Lazaro Montes and Colt Emerson makes it unlikely the Mariners would move them without a decent haul in return.
Ford's fate with the Mariners organization has been in question since the 2024 trade deadline. And if enough teams inquire about him at Winter Meetings, then Seattle might have to pull the trigger on a deal.
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