Washington Nationals snag top-tier prospect Harry Ford for Jose Ferrer. ESPN awards an A- for this bold move, seeking to solidify a weak offensive position.
The first major move of the 2026 offseason for the Washington Nationals became official on Sunday evening after the club announced left handed pitcher Jose Ferrar was traded for catcher Harry Ford and right handed pitcher Isaac Lyon.
The trade gives Washington one of the top prospects across the major leagues with Ford rated the 65th-best prospect in ESPN's rankings back in August, though he enters the offseason ranked the Mariners' fourth-highest rated prospect in addition to the fourth-highest rated catcher prospect. Whether Ford materializes into a consistent pro prospect remains to be seen after making his major league debut in September, his first of eight games with one start after finishing 1-for-6 in eight at-bats.
Still, Ford arrives in the nation's capital as a potential long-term answer to a weakness after the Nationals finished the 2025 season ranked 30th in the majors in fWAR, 29th in wRC and 29th in OPS. While the former first-round pick in the 2021 Draft looks to ignite his career alongside Lyon, who could develop into a starting pitcher for the Nationals, ESPN was bullish on Washington's move that materialized nearly 24 hours ahead of the start of MLB's winter meetings, grading the trade an A- for Washington.
ESPN: "The first major transaction from Paul Toboni, the Nationals' new president of baseball operations, looks like a good one. Anytime you can turn a reliever into a possible long-term starting position player, that's a win. We'll hedge the grade here a bit since Ford hasn't proved himself on the major league level, plus he projects more as a solid regular than a future star, but he should be a significant upgrade at a position that saw the Nationals rank 29th in the majors in OPS.
Indeed, Keibert Ruiz was supposed to be the answer behind the plate for the Nationals when they acquired him in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner with the Dodgers, but he has gone backward since a solid season in 2023, producing an unacceptable .595 OPS in 2025. Ford's biggest strength is an excellent approach at the plate that produced a 16.2% walk rate in Triple-A while striking out less than 20% of the time. With a career .405 OBP in the minors, he could eventually become a top-of-the-order hitter as he also runs well. (He stole 34 bases in 2024.) The power is only moderate and the defense still needs some work around the edges, but Ford should take over as the regular catcher in 2026."
Whether it serves as the only move or the first of several remains to be seen with trade speculation around left handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore continuing to ramp up into the weekend after Buster Olney reported, "there is a perception in a couple of front offices that [Gore] will definitely be among those moved in the days ahead." Jeff Passan added the Nationals have held discussions with over half the league as president of baseball operations Paul Toboni addressed the possible move this past week.
“He’s really good and so it doesn’t surprise me that teams are reaching out on him. I had a conversation with MacKenzie the other day and I said hey, before we really even hop into this, this is going to be a thing. Teams are going to call about you because you’re really good,” new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said during Wednesday’s edition of the Baseball Tonight podcast.