00:00So there are a couple moving parts within this trade, and the whole trade was Harry Ford and Isaac Lyon, a pitcher going from Seattle to Washington for a left-handed reliever that emerged as the Washington closer.
00:11And one of the better relievers in baseball over the last four to six weeks of the 2025 season, Jose A. Ferrer.
00:18And if you haven't heard that name, it's because he was throwing his best when the Nationals were at their worst and they were out of the conversation entirely.
00:26And what does that mean?
00:27Can this guy handle leverage moments in high-pressure games?
00:32We have yet to see because he's 25 years old and he hasn't really had the opportunity to do that in big-time games.
00:38But he did handle the eighth and ninth inning for Washington, and he was really effective down the stretch.
00:43It's a lefty that can run it up to 100 miles an hour, sinkers a bowling ball, ground balls at will, and the changeup is absolutely nasty.
00:50I feel like a lot of people just branded this as a massive overpay by Seattle to go get a good reliever because they are relinquishing a top 100 prospect.
00:59Did you see it that way?
01:01So, no, not in that way.
01:05And that's where it's like the polarizing thing, right, where I think it was probably a little bit expensive of an asset to trade for a reliever with, I think, what, three years of control?
01:16That is, again, was very effective to finish the year and has proven to be a solid arm.
01:22I mean, you look at some of the peripherals.
01:24He's going to be a peripheral darling in general.
01:25I know the FIP kept getting cited because he doesn't walk anybody, but that also is a positive, right?
01:30A lot of ground balls, doesn't walk anybody.
01:31That's going to be a guy that's going to be effective for you.
01:33He's going to need to figure out a way to get righties out the same way that he gets lefties out.
01:37Right opponents hit like 320 off of Ferrer from the right side of the plate.
01:41Lefties hit like 185, but I think this was a clear need for the Mariners, and he fits a role for them, and he comes with control.
01:49I know they've been trying to move forward, and there just wasn't quite the right trade out there to, you know, make sure you're maximizing every cent on the dollar, I guess.
01:58So, I guess to that point real quick, do you feel like they forced it at this point, knowing that they had to move him?
02:04Yes, I do.
02:05I do, because I think they realize maybe the amount of teams that don't have a young catcher that they may prefer giving reps to.
02:11Maybe dwindling, because you're not going to sit that long, not having a clear future in your catching position.
02:16Either teams that haven't had a catcher for a little bit have a minor leaguer coming up through the ranks that they may now prefer to give the reps to, or may just go address in free agency.
02:23And then, I think the other side is that, you know, you don't want to hold on to Ford too long to where he kind of goes stale, like we talk about.
02:30And then the value almost craters a little bit, and we see that sometimes with some Dodgers prospects, and that's why they get out from under them.
02:35But I think in a vacuum, it would have been hard to get more for just Ford alone.
02:39But that's where I think the Mariners sometimes, where they can be a little apprehensive of the prospect packages that they're willing to part with, though I do love what they did at the deadline.
02:47I think there could have been some iterations of trades where they were adding more on top of Ford and maybe getting a more impactful player.
02:54It seemed like in the past, this type of trade was definitely out there from everything I understand.
02:58They could have made this type of trade a year ago, or six months ago, or whatever it may be.
03:03But maybe they were holding out for something more, and it wasn't there, and they said, let's not wait any longer.
03:07Let's take the bird in hand.
03:08But I think in a perfect world, you're attaching another piece to Harry Ford and maybe bringing someone in more impactful.
03:14But at this point, it makes the big league team better now.
03:17It also has the next few years in mind.
03:19And, you know, at the end of the day, I think they felt like it would make no sense to go into next year with Harry Ford still on the roster.
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