With Mitch Garver gone and the phones buzzing, Seattle has to figure out whether Harry Ford’s next step is more at-bats in their lineup or a headlining role in a blockbuster.
Harry Ford barely had time to settle in as Cal Raleigh’s backup before the phones started ringing. As soon as executives gathered at the GM Meetings, his name jumped right back into the rumor cycle, lumped in with some of the biggest catching targets on the market. That’s what happens when you’re a 22-year-old with real offensive upside stuck behind an entrenched franchise catcher on the Seattle Mariners: every team looking for help behind the plate wants to know what it would take to pry you loose.
From Jim Bowden at The Athletic, reporting from the GM Meetings, the picture came into focus pretty quickly. He noted that the Nationals have joined the Rays, Padres, Astros, Brewers and Rangers in working the phones for catching help, and that the clubs getting the most inbound calls are the Orioles (on Adley Rutschman), Royals (Blake Mitchell), White Sox (Edgar Quero) and, yes, the Mariners on Harry Ford.
Mariners suddenly face big Harry Ford decision behind Cal Raleigh
None of this should come as a surprise to Mariners fans. Ford has basically been a living, breathing trade rumor since the day he was drafted. The difference now is that, on paper, he’s no longer “future something.” He’s technically Raleigh’s backup. With Mitch Garver off the roster, FanGraphs’ depth chart lists Ford as the No. 2 catcher behind Cal. That’s a promotion in title, but it also raises the real question at the heart of all this: is his highest and best use as a part-time catcher in Seattle, or as the centerpiece in a blockbuster that brings back an impact bat or another top-of-the-rotation arm?
If the Mariners are even a little worried about “wasting” Ford in a backup role, there are ways around that. Ford isn’t some lumbering backstop you hide in the crouch and hope nobody bunts. He’s a legitimate athlete. If Seattle wants his bat in the lineup more, they can absolutely start giving him real reps in the outfield, where his speed and mobility actually play. Pair that with strategic days where Cal Raleigh slides to designated hitter, and suddenly you’re talking about a path where Ford is catching, roaming the grass, and sneaking extra plate appearances in without ever losing his developmental reps behind the plate.
That’s why this isn’t just a binary “trade him or waste him” conversation. The organization has been adamant about developing him as a catcher, and it’s easy to see why. Young, athletic, and already showing on-base skills with power upside, Ford has the ceiling to grow into an All-Star backstop if it all comes together. Keeping him means you’re betting on that future. A world where, even while he’s blocked in the short term, he’s learning under one of the best game-callers in baseball, spotting in at other positions when needed, and slowly increasing his footprint in the lineup as the bat forces the issue.
On the other hand, the rest of the league doesn’t care that he’s technically listed as Cal’s backup now — they care that he’s one of the few catching prospects with star potential who might be available at all. That’s where the trade-chip argument kicks in.
If you believe the Mariners are one big bat away from truly maximizing their current window, or one more frontline arm away from having a playoff rotation nobody wants to see, then dangling Harry Ford for that level of upgrade starts to sound less like heresy and more like standard-issue World Series math. The “best-case scenario” here from a win-now standpoint is obvious: you convert a prospect into a major league contributor who moves the needle in 2026 and beyond.
Harry Ford barely had time to settle in as Cal Raleigh’s backup before the phones started ringing. As soon as executives gathered at the GM Meetings, his name jumped right back into the rumor cycle, lumped in with some of the biggest catching targets on the market. That’s what happens when you’re a 22-year-old with real offensive upside stuck behind an entrenched franchise catcher on the Seattle Mariners: every team looking for help behind the plate wants to know what it would take to pry you loose.
From Jim Bowden at The Athletic, reporting from the GM Meetings, the picture came into focus pretty quickly. He noted that the Nationals have joined the Rays, Padres, Astros, Brewers and Rangers in working the phones for catching help, and that the clubs getting the most inbound calls are the Orioles (on Adley Rutschman), Royals (Blake Mitchell), White Sox (Edgar Quero) and, yes, the Mariners on Harry Ford.
