With the Winter Meetings on the horizon and the hype of Josh Naylor’s return fading, the Mariners have pulled off their first major league trade of the offseason, striking a deal with the Nationals to upgrade their relief corps.
José A. Ferrer, 26 in March, led the 2025 Nats in appearances and
relief innings pitched at a respective 72 and 76.1 on the heels of a breakout 2024, and was named in Adam Jude’s article at the Seattle Times from Thursday that reported the M’s were targeting bullpen help – particularly a second southpaw to slot behind Gabe Speier. Although his ERA jumped over a full point from 3.38 to 4.48, there was plenty to like under the hood, as his FIP of 3.03 was much more in line with 2024’s 2.76 mark. After struggling with command in his 2023 debut season, he’s clamped down on the walks significantly, with a composite walk rate of under 5% the last two seasons. On the back of a tremendous sinker that averages just a hair under 98 MPH, his ground ball rate of 62.6% was third among all relievers in baseball (min. 50 IP), behind one-time Mariners target Jhoan Duran and veteran left-hander Tim Hill.
Ferrer is under team control through the 2029 season, and brings a track record of keeping the ball on the ground and in the park, but some reddish flags remain. He missed some time in 2024 thanks to a lat strain, and has shown a marked platoon split in his Major League career – though some of that has undoubtedly been poor luck, with a career .372 BABIP against right-handed hitters being over 120 points higher than his mark against lefties. Besides the sinker that he has heavily leaned on (71% usage in 2025!), he pulls out a slider against same-handed foes while deploying a changeup against righties, and the changeup taking a step forward in 2026 could go a long way in stabilizing those splits.
After multiple winters and trade deadlines came and went with speculation about Harry Ford being on the move swirling, the day has finally come. Ford made his big league debut in September, playing very sparingly in the regular season as Seattle charged to their first division titles since 2001. He got into just eight games (one start) and stepped up to the plate eight times, but still had a storybook moment in a walk-off sacrifice fly on September 11th, and notched his first big league hit on September 27th. He also got an at-bat in garbage time in Game 3 of the ALCS, lacing a solid single into center field. With the Nationals’ catching tandem of Riley Adams and Keibert Ruiz finishing 30th in wRC+ at a toothless 65, Ford should at long last get considerable chances to start at the big league level as the Nationals trudge through a rebuild.
Also heading to DC is righty Isaac Lyons, drafted by Seattle in the 10th round of the 2025 draft out of Grand Canyon University. The sidewinder started four games for the Modesto Nuts, with an inflated ERA of 7.30 thanks to a fluky four homers allowed in just 12.1 innings. Lyon, 22 in January, could see a bullpen move in his future, which could allow him to rise through the minors thanks to his unique delivery and ability to throw strikes.
