Nats trade Ferrer to Mariners for prospects Ford and Lyon

The first big domino to fall for the Nationals this offseason did so before next week’s Winter Meetings even officially started. New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni didn’t wait to meet with other general managers face-to-face in Orlando to pull off his first trade as the new head of Washington’s organization.

Toboni decided to part ways with a left-handed pitcher, but it’s not the one you’re thinking of.

Jose A. Ferrer has been dealt to the Mariners for prospects Harry Ford and Isaac Lyon, the Nats announced this evening.

Ford is a 22-year-old catching prospect who made his major league debut this season with Seattle. He was the Mariners' No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline and their No. 6 per Baseball America. Pipeline has him as the No. 3 catching prospect in the sport and the No. 42 prospect overall. Baseball America ranks him at No. 74 in its top 100.

The 12th-overall pick in 2021 out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga., Ford hit .283 with an .868 OPS, 16 home runs, 18 doubles, 74 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 97 games with Triple-A Tacoma. He displayed a strong eye in the batter’s box by striking out just 88 times in 458 plate appearances for a 19.1 percent rate.

He also threw out 23 percent of would-be basestealers from behind the plate.

Ford represented Great Britain in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hitting two home runs while going 4-for-13 (.308) with a double and four RBIs in four games.

Ford only collected one hit and one RBI over eight plate appearances in his eight major league appearances in September, but he now likely projects to be the Nationals’ long-term solution at catcher, while perhaps even getting an extended look next year. He was also immediately added to the Nats' 40-man roster, which now stands at 37 players.

Lyon was the Mariners’ 10th-round selection out of Grand Canyon University in July. He was GCU's Friday night starter with a two-seam fastball, changeup and slider mix.

The 21-year-old right-hander, who is the son of 12-year veteran Brandon Lyon, went 3-4 with a 4.19 ERA, 1.442 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings during his last season at Grand Canyon. He only made four professional appearances this summer, going 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA, 1.541 WHIP and 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings in four starts with Single-A Modesto.

Ferrer ends his time with the Nationals after posting an 8-4 record, 4.36 ERA, 1.265 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 and 12 saves over 142 appearances.

The 25-year-old originally signed with the Nationals as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in July 2017 and is still under team control for another four years.

A hard-throwing lefty, he impressed in limited action during his rookie season in 2023, was limited to just 31 appearances with a shoulder strain in 2024 and couldn’t quite find consistency in 2025. Over 72 games this year, he pitched to a 4.48 ERA with a 1.271 WHIP and 8.4 K/9.

He did, however, post a 3.80 ERA with 11 saves in 13 chances in 21 appearances after taking over the closer’s role following Kyle Finnegan’s trade to the Tigers at the deadline.

Now he’s a trade piece for Toboni to add more depth to the organization and bring in a consensus top prospect at a valuable position.