The Nationals have made the first big move of the Paul Toboni era, trading LHP Jose A. Ferrer to the Seattle Mariners for catcher Harry Ford and minor-league RHP Isaac Lyon.
Ferrer, 25, took over as the Nats’ de facto closer after Kyle Finnegan was traded last year, and he ended the season with a 4.48 ERA, 11 saves, and 71 K’s in 76 1/3 innings. The fireballer, whose heater touches 100 and sinker sits in the upper-90s, has a career 4.36 ERA and only 7.7 K/9 despite that velocity, but there’s over a run difference between his career ERA and FIP (3.33), his walk rate has been below 5% each of the last two seasons, and he was the victim of a .345 BAbip in 2025.
As he is under tram control for four seasons, the return was a big one for the Nationals in Ford, who was the No. 12 overall pick in 2021 and was, at one time, the No. 1 prospect in the Mariners’ system. He has been a consensus Top 100 prospect the last three years, and also has played in three consecutive Futures Games.
The 22-year-old slashed .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs in Triple-A last season and made his MLB debut in September, going 1-for-6. Ford is a career .266 hitter, with 52 homers in 424 games, but his path is blocked by Cal Raleigh, who set multiple home run records last season and was the runner-up for AL MVP.
The Nationals also get Lyon, the Mariners’ 10th-round pick in 2025, who allowed 10 earned runs and struck out 15 in 12 1/3 innings at Class-A Modesto in his pro debut.