Top Seattle Mariners Executive Reaffirms Organization's Stance on Harry Ford
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The Seattle Mariners have an interesting problem that doesn't seem to have a clear solution: what to do with top 100 prospect Harry Ford.
The first-round 2021 draft pick has dominated in his first season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Entering Tuesday, the catcher has scored 28 runs and has hit seven doubles and six home runs with 28 RBIs in 41 games. He's slashed .325/.437/.484 with a .921 OPS and was named the organization's co-Minor League Hitter of The Month with fellow top 100 prospect Cole Young, who made his big league debut against the Minnesota Twins on May 31.
Baseball destroyed. Harry Ford goes 442ft for a 2-runs HR. pic.twitter.com/ItJegLFMuy
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) May 14, 2025
Despite Young's success and high-standing within the organization, there's an obstacle to his path to the majors: the best catcher in baseball this season, Cal Raleigh, and his backup Mitch Garver, who Seattle is paying $12.5 million this season.
This apparent logjam has led fans to clamor for a potential position change for Ford to clear a path to a major league debut, possibly a shift to first base. The Mariners have tested the 22-year-old at another position before. He played eight games in left field with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers last season.
An article published by Seattle Times reporter Adam Jude on Tuesday included a conversation with Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.
In the article, Dipoto seemingly quenched any notion of Ford changing positions for the big leagues and reaffirmed the organization's stance and view on him going forward.
“It wasn’t a natural transition for him on those days (in the outfield),” Dipoto said. “And what we were really loathe to do — Harry’s been catching since he was 8 years old. He identifies as a catcher. He has catcher skills. We didn’t want to get jumpy because we had a 21-year-old who was, who was transitioning into the pro game at a pace that, frankly, is normal for a 21-year-old, high-school catcher. And as they move toward the big leagues, you just need the reps [at catcher].”
Raleigh signed a six-year, $105 million contract in the offseason that will keep him on the team through at least 2030. Garver is under contract through the rest of this season with a $12 million mutual option for 2027.
The team could move on from Garver to make room for Ford this year. The organization can also keep Ford in Triple-A and go into 2026 with Raleigh and Ford as the team's catchers. If the club has a preference one way or the other, Dipoto didn't reveal it in the article.
But the one thing that's for sure based on Dipoto's comments — the organization views Ford as a catcher. And he'll remain a catcher for the foreseeable future.
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