Former Seattle Mariners Slugger Signs Another New Deal in Japan
Former Seattle Mariners slugger Mike Ford is headed back to Japan, as he's signing again with the Yokohama BayStars.
He had been playing in Triple-A for the Minnesota Twins organization, but will head back to the BayStars for the second straight year, as per the Yakyu Cosmopolitan.
The DeNA BayStars are signing 1B/DH Mike Ford, who was with the team last season.
Ford, 32, had 8 HR in 32 G in Triple-A St. Paul this year. In NPB, he had a 90 OPS+ in the regular season but slashed .333/.412/.600 in 17 postseason PA.
The DeNA BayStars are signing 1B/DH Mike Ford, who was with the team last season.
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) June 22, 2025
Ford, 32, had 8 HR in 32 G in Triple-A St. Paul this year. In NPB, he had a 90 OPS+ in the regular season but slashed .333/.412/.600 in 17 postseason PA.https://t.co/S9PGR2muJ7
Ford will not be the only former big leaguer on the BayStars roster, as former National League Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer is there as well.
Ford has spent parts of six years in the big leagues with the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds. He spent two different tenures with the Mariners, appearing for them in both 2022 and 2023. His 2023 tenure was memorable for fans because he provided some much-needed thump in that lineup before the team missed the playoffs by just one game.
In 83 games that season, he popped 16 homers and drove in 34 runs. He also had several key home runs late that fueled victories. That was his most successful major league season, and also represented the most games he'd played with a team in a major league season.
He became a free agent the following winter and signed a deal with the Reds but did not make the roster out of spring training. He played 17 games for Cincinnati in 2024.
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