Nationals Set to Promote Harry Ford, Why That's the Right Decision

The Washington Nationals announced that backup catcher Drew Millas was moved to the 10-day injured list on Wednesday due to a left index finger fracture.

Because that move was retroactive to July 12, Millas will be eligible to return at the end of their series against the Colorado Rockies on July 22 if he's healthy. But in the meantime, the Nationals need another catcher alongside Keibert Ruiz. And according to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, Washington is going to call up top prospect Harry Ford after the All-Star break.

Ford was acquired this past offseason in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. Viewed as one of the top catching prospects across Major League Baseball, it seemed like Washington might give him the keys to this position based on Ruiz's struggles. However, they opted to start him in Triple-A this year, and after some struggles at the plate in the first half of this campaign, there were questions if Ford would even be called up for his team debut this year.

But now, the Nationals are going to give Ford a chance to make his mark in the bigs, and this is why that's the right decision from the organization.

Nationals Make Right Decision to Promote Harry Ford

Washington Nationals catcher Harry Ford | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Simply put, it's time for Ford to play Major League Baseball.

He's proven everything he can in the minor league ranks, so if he's going to ever become an everyday star catcher in The Show, like his ceiling projects him to be, then he needs to start getting experience playing at that level on a consistent basis.

However, it wasn't obvious that Ford was going to be promoted to backfill the opening created because of Millas' injury. Veteran Riley Adams, who was the backup last year, could have been recalled to serve as the team's stand-in, while they continued to let Ford develop in the minors.

After all, it has not been a good year from Ford with Rochester. Through 58 games, he had a slash line of .223/.370/.335 with only four home runs, 15 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs, which was a far cry from what he had done previously in his career with three out of his four full minor league seasons producing a batting average above .270 with double-digit homers and OPS figures above .800.

But according to Nusbaum, there was a reason for Ford's struggles this season, as the insider reported that Ford has been playing through a shoulder injury. It seemed like Ford might have put those issues behind him during the summer, though, as he posted an OPS of .841 in June that aligned with what he had done previously in his minor league career. He then bumped that up to an eye-catching figure of 1.028 across eight games in July, where he had a homer, three doubles, three RBIs and nine walks to seven strikeouts.

Harry Ford Has Chance to Play His Way Into Contribruting Role

That improvement likely gave the front office confidence to call him up. But it also showed why it was time to promote Ford to the majors, as he found his past form that made it evident that he was too good to keep play in the minors.

How long Ford stays up in the bigs will be interesting to see. He likely will be used in the backup role behind Ruiz, so there might not be a ton of chances for him to prove why he deserves to remain on the major league roster instead of going back to Rochester. But if he is able to have success whenever he's on the field, then that could prompt Washington to stay with Ford even when Millas recovers from his injury, whenever that may be.

All in all, the Nationals made the right decision to promote Ford for his team debut coming out of the All-Star break. Now it's up to him to leave his mark during this opportunity.

Add us as a preferred source on Google