How Should the Mariners Handle Their Best Trade Chip?

You’d have to be living under a rock to have not heard about the special things Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is accomplishing this season. The switch-hitting backstop is setting the baseball world on fire on home run at a time and is well on his way to having the best offensive season from a catcher in MLB history.

This automatically gives the Mariners one of the best catching duos in baseball, regardless of what the other guy is doing. The “other guy” in this instance is 34-year-old Mitch Garver, who’s sporting a 93 wRC+ through 141 plate appearances this season. Not exactly taking the league by storm, but you don’t have to when Raleigh is in front of you on the depth chart.

Garver is well past his prime, but that doesn’t mean the Mariners should make a move to promote catching prospect Harry Ford.

Just Baseball’s No. 86 overall prospect and No. 6 Mariners prospect, Ford was recently added to Seattle’s taxi squad. However, he hasn’t been officially promoted while the Mariners wait to find out whether or not Garver’s headed to the injured list.

No, instead of calling Ford up just to sit on the bench, the Mariners could look to trade him while his value remains high. Based off of what we’ve seen from him on his ascent up the minor-league ladder, there’s not much concern for regression in Ford’s game, but you never do know when it comes to prospects.

The Mariners are right in the middle of a contention window, and they could easily use Ford as a trade piece to land a major upgrade at a few different spots on their big league roster.

Let’s take a closer look at the whole situation and determine whether or not he should be moved.

The Case For the Mariners Trading Harry Ford

It’s not quite as simple as “the Mariners have Cal Raleigh so they don’t need another catcher”, but Raleigh is on a heater and he’s already been locked up to a long-term extension. If/when the Mariners call Ford up to the big leagues, he’ll need to be playing consistently, but that doesn’t feel likely now that he’s behind baseball’s best catcher on the depth chart.

This means that the Mariners could look to flip Ford in order to upgrade their big-league roster. The club has more needs on their pitching staff than on offense. As of right now, they’re 20th in starter’s ERA and 14th in reliever’s ERA. Bryce Miller is currently on the shelf and both Logan Gilbert and George Kirby have missed time this year with their own respective stints on the injured list.

It’s surprising, but the Mariners – who at one point looked to have baseball’s best rotation – need a starter. Sandy Alcantara, Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Seth Lugo, and Freddy Peralta are some of the top available arms that could be moved at this year’s deadline. Any of them would be a welcomed addition to Seattle’s starting-five.

Ford’s Performance This Year Is Skyrocketing His Value

Statistically, it’s hard to believe that Ford’s value will get any higher than it is right now. The 22-year-old put together a strong year in Double-A last season, hitting seven home runs with 45 RBI, 72 runs scored, 35 stolen bases, and a 130 wRC+.

This year, he’s got 60 games under his belt in Triple-A and has improved all across the board. Ford’s already hit eight home runs with 43 RBI and a 134 wRC+. He’s not stealing as many bases, but he’s raised his walk rate, lowered his strikeout rate by 5% and has dramatically improved his entire triple-slash line. After posting a .249/.377/.367 line last year, Ford’s up to .311/.426/.469 this year.

Defensively, Ford’s a catcher by trade, but he got eight games and over 70 innings in left field last season in an effort to expand his versatility. He’s got the speed and agility to hold down another position, but the Mariners and Ford himself have stated that his position is catcher. He’s certainly helped his case by raising his caught-stealing percentage from 23% last year to 32% this year.

There’s not a whole lot more he’s got to prove down in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, regular playing time is hard to come by at the MLB level right now. At least in the Mariners system.

The Case For Holding On To Harry Ford

Since Garver’s on an expiring contract, the Mariners could simply wait until next year to bring Ford up and give him as many reps as they can. Raleigh is their primary backstop, but he hits well enough where a day off for him could simply be sliding him over to designated hitter.

If that was the route Seattle chose, then Ford could find his way to regular reps behind the plate. He’s stated that he wants to remain a catcher, so this is likely the best way the Mariners could honor his wishes while still giving him enough playing time to make holding on to him worth it.

The numbers speak for themselves with Ford. He had a solid year in 2024 but he’s really made some necessary adjustments offensively and defensively to boost his value – both to the Mariners and to other clubs – and make his production harder to ignore.

That’s really the other major reason why the Mariners could hold on to him: he’s a very good baseball player. Ford’s only 22 but he’s already looking like a future star who plays at an above-average clip on both sides of the ball.

The Verdict

With Ford, there’s a special talent here. The dilemma for Seattle is whether or not they want to use him themselves or try to bring reinforcements in to go for it this year.

Entering Friday’s action, the Mariners are 41-39, six-and-a-half games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West but also a half-game above the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. As of right now, this is a playoff-bound team.

If you’re asking me, my opinion is that the Mariners need to make the tough decision to trade Ford away. Raleigh is entrenched behind the dish for the next half-decade, and the club needs to make a major push for their first ever World Series title.

It’s not everyday you come across a true catcher who’s as agile as Ford is, and as solid of a hitter as he is. He does so many things right on the field, but the Mariners have already made their long-term commitment to Raleigh. It felt like once they locked him up, Ford’s future with the organization was sealed.

As relayed by MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto recently delivered a pretty telling sound bite on Ford’s status as a trade chip, “not surprisingly, teams do fall over themselves,. It’s like, that’s what you’re looking for. And it just so happens that he is playing behind the best catcher in the world right now, and doesn’t leave for a lot of reps.”