Nationals acquire top Mariners prospect for lefty reliever

In a trade that snugly fits the needs of a team in transition and another in win-now mode, the Washington Nationals acquired top catching prospect Harry Ford from the Seattle Mariners for left-handed reliever Jose A. Ferrer, the teams announced on the eve of baseball’s Dec. 7 winter meetings.

Ford, 22, is a consensus top 100 prospect who made a six at-bat debut for the Mariners this past season. Of course, he’s blocked from a full-time role in Seattle by Cal Raleigh, who hit 61 home runs, most ever by a primary catcher, and finished runner-up in American League MVP voting.

The Nationals also acquired right-handed pitcher Isaac Lyon, a 10th-round pick in the July draft who pitched 12 1/3 innings at low Class A Modesto in 2025. The trade marks the first significant swap for new Nationals baseball operations chief Paul Toboni, who will have weightier rebuild chips to ponder – such as All-Stars MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams – once the meetings commence.

Ferrer, 23, is a potentially potent yet for now inconsistent bullpen piece who’s toggled through high-leverage relief roles for the Nationals the past three seasons. He served as their part-time closer after the trade of Kyle Finnegan to Detroit, recording 11 saves. Ferrer gets his fastball up to 98 mph and also features a 97 mph power sinker, yet iffy command has resulted in a career 1.27 WHIP.

Still, he has just two years of service time and can slide nicely into a defined role in a Mariners bullpen anchored by All-Star closer Andres Muñoz. The Mariners won the AL West and reached the seventh game of the AL Championship Series before falling to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ford was the 12th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of an Atlanta high school and has a career .832 OPS in the minor leagues. He hit 16 homers at Class AAA Tacoma (Wash.) this season. Ford should find an immediate opportunity in Washington, with veteran Keibert Ruiz, though signed to a modest contract through 2030, suffering through two seasons of poor production and injury. Ruiz has a 72 adjusted OPS over the past two seasons.