MINNEAPOLIS -- The Harry Ford era appears to be on the immediate horizon in Seattle.
The Mariners’ No. 5 prospect, and MLB Pipeline’s No. 60 overall, will join the club in Arlington on Friday, sources told MLB.com, and at the very least, he’ll be on Seattle’s taxi squad as the club’s medical personnel awaits the status of backup catcher Mitch Garver. The club has not confirmed.
Garver exited Thursday’s 10-1 loss to the Twins after taking a foul ball off his neck and chin area during the fifth inning, at which point Cal Raleigh took his place behind the plate after starting as the designated hitter. The Mariners were then forced to sacrifice their DH spot, though it proved to have little effect in one of their most lopsided losses of the season, one that featured a rain delay of four hours and 22 minutes before first pitch.
Ford was scratched from Triple-A Tacoma’s lineup shortly before first pitch on Thursday night at Round Rock, which sources confirmed were related to Garver’s status. Proximity will play in Ford’s favor, as he’ll only have to make a 185-mile trek to Globe Life Field.
Garver is scheduled to undergo further evaluation upon arriving in Arlington for the weekend series against the Rangers, at which point the Mariners will make a decision on whether he’ll require a stint on the injured list. Only in that case will Ford be selected to the 40-man roster, which itself will necessitate an additional transaction given that it is currently at capacity.
“[Garver] kind of injured his jaw area,” manager Dan Wilson told reporters postgame at Target Field. “He’s going to get some imaging tomorrow, and then we’ll see how it goes from there.”
The Mariners have no other catchers on their active roster, meaning that they’ll need a backup for Raleigh if Garver is sidelined for an extended period.
“We’re going to obviously assess some things once we get some answers tomorrow and go from there,” Wilson said. “But yeah, that’s a position that you typically have to be pretty careful about.”
Ford has cooled some since his scorching-hot May, when he hit .411 with a 1.120 OPS. But overall, Ford is in the midst of his most productive season since being selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
For the season, Ford is slashing .311/.426/.469 (.895 OPS) with eight homers, 12 doubles, 43 RBIs, a 17% K rate and 15.5% walk rate in 60 games, all with Tacoma after being promoted there out of Spring Training.
What has Ford learned about most since making the leap from Double-A?
“Just how to have more of a plan and approach and know when you can take a chance on certain things,” Ford said last month. “Like swinging, when you can take a chance, and definitely learning a lot more about calling a game and getting the best out of a pitcher.”
The Mariners have been adamant about keeping Ford at catcher despite him facing arguably the biggest logjam of any Top 100 prospect at his position, given Raleigh’s emergence as a legitimate AL MVP candidate -- and that Raleigh plays virtually every day.
And Seattle doesn’t intend to sacrifice that plan, which creates intrigue on how often Ford could play at the MLB level, if he’s indeed added to the 26-man roster.
“That six-week period in Spring Training, he flourished,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said earlier this month. “He was raking, really from Day 1. He was one of our best offensive performers in the spring. And we started to see big gains behind the plate. He's always had a cannon. It's a 70 arm on a scouting scale. He's a 60 runner. He's an unbelievable athlete. He works his tail off.
“The game-calling has always been something of a question dating back to his high school years, which is the same for every single high school catcher that has ever signed. And then as you progress through you need to shake the tag, and the way you shake it is just by gaming reps.”
Ford has been in big league camp every spring since 2022, meaning that he’s already well acquainted with much of the roster.
Fellow Top 100 prospect Cole Young (No. 37) was his roommate throughout their ascent in the Minors, from Single-A Modesto to High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas. Raleigh has been a mentor. So, too, has Wilson, the former catcher who spent much time with Ford in his previous role as a special assignment coach on the Minors side, especially with Ford’s work in the community.
Ford could be finally here -- and he’ll be a familiar face for many.