The lone trade of the offseason sent reliever Jose Ferrar to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a pair of prospects, including catcher Harry Ford.

The British catcher first landed in Seattle as a first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, but Ford is fresh off his first MLB appearance in 2025 after being promoted to the 40-man roster to open September. It marked Ford’s first chance to prove himself after ranking as the fourth-best prospect in Seattle’s farm system and posting 16 home runs and 74 RBIs in 97 games at Triple-A Tacoma. Ford would make his debut four days after being called up and posted one hit and one run in six at bats in eight games.

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Fast forward three months later, Ford now finds himself adjusting to his first trade in the major leagues after admitting shock from the initial deal.

“It hit me pretty hard,” Ford said in an interview on Monday. “They called me, and I was OK. Then I was with my mom, and I was pretty sad just about all I’ve known as the Mariners and the relationships and the people that have been around there. It definitely hit hard knowing I’m not going to see them anymore, or consistently.”

Ford now becomes part of a key core for Washington with a chance to potentially compete with Keibert Ruiz for the starting catcher role with Riley Adams and Drew Millas rounding out the unit.

“I love that I’m going to get a chance to fight for a spot on the team,” Ford said. “I know the other catchers, Ruiz and [Riley] Adams, and so I’m really glad and excited to get to work with them as well. But I am thankful for the chance to be, I guess, a little more in the conversation than in Seattle.”

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The news also came after the organization turned to the youth route after Paul Toboni and Blake Butera became the youngest hires at their positions across the major leagues, giving Ford a chance to settle in ahead of the 2026 season.

“Everyone’s really fresh and on the up and coming,” Ford said. “I’m excited to be around some grinders and some dudes that are ready to get after it.”

Ford now ranks as the second-best prospect in the Nationals’ farm system behind shortstop Eli Willits and 42nd-best across baseball.

“I’d say I’m pretty complete. I’m not trying to look for walks and I’m not trying to look for homers. I have moments where I take my chances and I’m going to put a big swing on a 2-0 pitch here and there,” he added. “But I’m just a gap-to-gap line drive hitter. I attribute the walks to me being able to wait late because I’ve got really fast hands so I can see the ball longer. But I just get on base. I find ways to get on base. That’s what I do.”

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Toboni spoke about the Nationals’ trade during winter meetings earlier this week.

“It was pretty clear to us that they were in the market for a higher leverage reliever. It wasn’t like we were sitting there looking to trade Jose,” he said. “At the same time, when we were presented with this opportunity, it was like, ‘OK, this is something we should pretty strongly consider.’ I think it’s one of those, I would say, rare moves that I think we’re going to look up four, five years down the line and say, this was really a great trade for both teams.”