Mariners have serious work to do to justify their faith in Jose A. Ferrer

Last weekend, the Mariners swung a trade for Jose A Ferrer, the Nationals reliever who briefly served as their closer during the 2025 season. It was the first big trade of the winter for Seattle, and one that immediately drew questions from the fanbase.

Why was the team willing to part with MLB Pipeline's No. 42 overall prospect, Harry Ford? Ford, who was slated to serve as Cal Raleigh's backup catcher, is now on his way to Washington. The catching prospect was drafted No. 12 overall in 2020 and finally made it to Seattle at the end of this season. It is an especially sad trade for Tacoma fans who watched Ford as the Rainiers' starting catcher all year in 2025.

Mariners have serious work to do to justify their faith in Jose A. Ferrer

It felt as if that if Ford was going to be traded, it would have to be for more than a relief pitcher, especially one whose stats have been mostly average over the past three years. Yet Jerry Dipoto had high praise for Ferrer.

“We feel like we got the No. 1 trade target on our list,” Dipoto said at the Winter Meetings, per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. “Like, this was the guy that, if we could dream the dream, who would you want to acquire? This was the guy we were looking to acquire.”

Really? Not perennial All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte, who is actively being shopped by the Diamondbacks? Not a third baseman to replace Eugenio Suárez, or DH to replace Jorge Polanco? Not even a reliever with elite stats?

According to Dipoto, the Mariners' top trade target was a reliever with a career 4.36 ERA and 0.5 bWAR to his name in three seasons with the Nationals.

Really?

To see why the Mariners like Ferrer, you have to look beyond the stats. It's true that Ferrer's underlying numbers suggest he has the potential to become one of the most dominant left-handed relievers in the league, and it is true that the Mariners needed a left-handed reliever.

The problem is, Ferrer hasn't actually reached his potential yet, and there is no guarantee he ever will. He is a project acquisition, with the potential to be a leverage reliever, but also the possibility of flaming out. Just remember Gregory Santos if you think the Mariners staff has the ability to make every reliever a superstar.

Point is, the Mariners traded their top trade chip for an unproven commodity. There's a reason why fans are upset, especially the ones who enjoyed watching Ford in Triple-A.

That's not to say this trade cannot turn into an easy win for the Mariners. It is to say that Ferrer has some work to do to win over the hearts of fans who are questioning this trade.

If Ferrer turns out to be no more than an average left-hander (see: Caleb Ferguson), and Ford turns out to be a starting catcher, this trade could look poorly in the coming years. The Mariners need Ferrer to become the dominant arm they think he can be to win over the fans on this one.