On paper, this felt weird immediately.
The Seattle Mariners were giving up consensus top-100 prospect Harry Ford, a former first-round pick, and another prospect (RHP Isaac Lyon), for a relief pitcher? A guy named Jose Ferrer?
A look through the comments on the Mariners’ social media posts about the trade clearly weren’t thrilled that Ford was leaving town.
Is there any way to make sense of this?
We’ll try.
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Why did the Mariners trade Harry Ford for Jose Ferrer?
Seattle wanted an upgrade to its bullpen.
The cost was steep. Ford is a good ballplayer. But he also doesn’t have an obvious lineup spot, because he’s a catcher, and the Mariners have Cal Raleigh.
Ferrer is left-handed and throws his sinker at an average of 97.7 miles per hour. He’s a tantalizing talent, but he hasn’t been overly dominant in MLB yet, either.
Seattle is taking a risk, for sure.
Why did the Nationals trade Jose Ferrer for Harry Ford?
For Washington, this is an absolute no-brainer.
Ford could still be a star, and the Nats don’t have as obvious a catcher star, with Keibert Ruiz having been hit or miss so far.
With where the Nationals are in their contention timeline, it makes way more sense to add a potential future star rather than trying to keep a bullpen arm. Relievers are inconsistent and don’t always hold up from year to year. If Ford pans out, he’s an everyday player.
Washington is certainly on the lower-risk side of this deal.
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