The Washington Nationals are making a move behind the plate. Catcher prospect Harry Ford is getting the call to the majors, according to MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato, and he could make his Nationals debut during the upcoming series against the Athletics.
Ford, 23, already has a cup of coffee in the big leagues. He played eight games for the Seattle Mariners last season, getting just six at-bats with one hit and an RBI. Three strikeouts, too. Not exactly a blazing start, but the Nationals clearly see something they like.
Washington traded for Ford in the offseason. Now he’s their No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and he’s about to get a real look. The timing is pretty straightforward: the Nationals placed backup catcher Drew Millas on the 10-day IL Wednesday with a fractured left index finger. The injury is retroactive to July 12. Ford steps into that backup role behind Keibert Ruiz.
The Nationals aren’t exactly tearing it up. They sit at 48-49 heading into the second half, eight games back of the Braves in the NL East. And here’s the thing — the National League is way tougher than the American League this season. So Washington has a real mountain to climb if they want to sniff the playoffs.
But that’s not the point right now. The point is they’re giving Ford a shot. He didn’t get much opportunity in Seattle, but the Nationals obviously think he can handle big league pitching. Or at least they think he’s worth a look. (And honestly, at this point in the season, what do they have to lose?)
Ford will likely slot in as the No. 2 catcher and get a few starts a week. The real test is whether he can stick. The Nationals have a young core and they’re clearly trying to figure out what they’ve got. Ford is part of that experiment.
No word yet on when exactly he’ll debut, but it should be sometime in the next few days. The Athletics series starts Friday.
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