The Seattle Mariners acquired Dominican reliever José A. Ferrer on Saturday in a trade with the Washington Nationals.
Seattle sent catcher Harry Ford and minor league pitcher Isaac Lyon to Washington in exchange for Ferrer, who had a career-high 11 saves in 72 appearances this year.
Ford, 22, is one of baseball’s top prospects. The Mariners already have star slugger Cal Raleigh at catcher. Ford made his major league debut in September, going 1-for-6 in eight games.
Seattle won the American League West this year for the first time since 2001. They reached the American League Championship Series before being eliminated by Toronto in seven games.
The addition of Ferrer, 25, gives the Mariners another strong arm alongside Mexican closer Andrés Muñoz.
Ferrer had a 4.48 ERA, 71 strikeouts and 16 walks in 76 1/3 innings this year. He ranked among the major league leaders with an average fastball velocity of 97.7 mph and a ground ball percentage of 64.3.
He made his major league debut with Washington in 2023. He has an 8-4 record with a 4.36 ERA and 12 saves in 142 career games.
The trade was announced on the eve of baseball’s winter meetings in Orlando, Florida. It’s the first significant player move for Paul Toboni since he was hired as the Nationals’ president of baseball operations in September.
Ford was selected by Seattle with the 12th pick in the 2021 amateur draft. He hit .283 with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs in 97 games for Triple-A Tacoma this year.
He became a mini-celebrity in Great Britain after playing for the country in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Ford joins a Washington franchise that hasn’t had a winning record since its World Series championship in 2019. The Nationals finished with a 66-96 record this year and finished last in the NL East.
Lyon, 21, was a 10th-round pick in this year’s amateur draft out of Grand Canyon University. The son of former major league pitcher Brandon Lyon had a 7.30 ERA in 12 1/3 innings spanning four starts for Class A Modesto.
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