MIKE FORD NEWS

Fails to make Opening Day roster The Twins don't include Ford on their 26-man active roster ahead of Thursday's season opener versus the Cardinals.

Impact While attending camp as a non-roster invitee, Ford faced long odds to win a spot on the Opening Day roster, and he didn't do himself any favors by going 4-for-32 (.125 average) during Grapefruit League play. Assuming his minor-league contract doesn't contain an opt-out clause that would allow him to pursue free agency, the 32-year-old first baseman will likely report to Triple-A St. Paul to begin the season.

MARCH 27 • ROTOWIRE

Twins agree to deal with free agent Ty France, bringing in 2022 All-Star as another option at 1B

The Minnesota Twins and free agent first baseman Ty France have agreed to a one-year major league contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal

FEBRUARY 11

Nabs NRI deal with Minnesota The Twins signed Ford to a minor-league contract Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Impact Ford put up a .411 OPS over 17 games with the Reds in 2024 and finished the year with Japan's Yokohama DeNA Baystars of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 32-year-old has clubbed 37 homers in 781 plate appearances at the big-league level and the Twins do have an opening at first base, but Ford is far down in the pecking order.

JANUARY 2 • ROTOWIRE

Mike Ford signs with Japan's BayStars First baseman and designated hitter Mike Ford has signed a contract for the 2024 season with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Pr...

JULY 5, 2024 • THESTATE.COM

Signs with Japanese club Ford signed a contract with Japan's Yokohama DeNA Baystars on Thursday.

Impact Ford declined an outright assignment by the Reds back in late May and has now found a new organization overseas. The 32-year-old is a career .205/.298/.402 hitter over parts of six seasons in the majors.

JULY 5, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Reds 1B Encarnacion-Strand out 4 to 6 weeks with a wrist injury. Ford promoted from Triple-A

The Cincinnati Reds put struggling first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand on the 10-day injured list with a fractured bone in his wrist

MAY 8, 2024

Joins Cincy on MiLB deal Ford signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Friday that includes an invite to big-league camp, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Impact Ford had a .228/.323/.475 slash line with 16 home runs in 84 games with the Mariners last season before being cut loose in November. The Reds already have a bit of a logjam of quality bats, so Ford is unlikely to see much playing time even if he manages to crack the big-league roster.

FEBRUARY 23, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

Hits free agency Ford became a free agent Friday after being non-tendered by the Mariners.

Impact Ford was designated for assignment Tuesday and will now officially head to the open market. He was productive at times for Seattle in 2023 but struggled badly down the stretch. The 31-year-old owns a career .211 batting average and .309 on-base percentage in 234 total major-league games.

NOVEMBER 18, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sits against southpaw Ford will hit the bench against lefty Andrew Heaney and the Rangers on Saturday.

Impact Ford hasn't started once against a southpaw all season, and he won't get to break that trend on the penultimate day of the regular season. Sam Haggerty will handle designated hitter duties in his absence.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

On base three times in loss Ford went 2-for-3 with a walk in a loss to the Dodgers on Sunday.

Impact It was another quiet day for the Mariners' bats as a whole in the final installment of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, but Ford managed one of two multi-hit efforts on the day for Seattle. The slugger came into the contest mired in a 1-for-15 skid that had encompassed his prior seven games, and the multi-hit tally was Ford's first since Sept. 4.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Long-ball barrage continues in win Ford went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a win over the Reds on Wednesday.

Impact Ford struck out in two of his other three plate appearances, but he delivered a 400-foot shot to right with Ty France aboard in the second to erase an early 1-0 deficit and give the Mariners a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way. Ford has a modest four hits in his last four games, but three of those have left the yard with the help of his 40.0 percent hard contact rate and 42.9 percent HR/FB rate in that sample.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Leaves yard again Monday Ford went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Reds on Monday.

Impact The surging slugger left the yard for the second time in as many games, belting a 388-foot shot to right center in the fifth inning. Ford now has career highs in homers (15) and RBI (30), while his current .840 OPS qualifies as his highest figure since his rookie 2019 campaign with the Yankees, when he mustered a .909 figure across 163 plate appearances.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Belts solo blast Sunday Ford went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a loss to the Mets on Sunday.

Impact Ford went back-to-back with Dominic Canzone in leaving the yard during the fourth inning, allowing the Mariners to close a four-run deficit to one. Ford has reached safely in six straight games, an encouraging stretch during which he's posted a .333 average (5-for-15) with two homers, three RBI, three walks, a hit-by-pitch and four runs.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Resting Sunday Ford is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Impact Ford will take a seat while Teoscar Hernandez gets a day out of the outfield to serve as Seattle's designated hitter. While starting in five of the Mariners' last six games, Ford went 5-for-18 with a home run, four walks, four runs and three RBI.

AUGUST 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Blasts 12th homer Ford went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and an additional run scored in Saturday's 15-2 win over the Royals.

Impact Ford capped off a seven-run rally in the third inning with a two-run homer to right field. The 31-year-old had been mired in a lengthy slump prior to Saturday's contest, managing only six hits (one home run) and racking up 20 strikeouts in his previous 50 at-bats.

AUGUST 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Heads to bench Wednesday Ford is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

Impact Ford had served as the Mariners' designated hitter in each of the past three games, but he'll cede those duties to Dominic Canzone in the series finale. Until the Mariners get Jarred Kelenic (foot) back from the injured list, the Mariners should have two spots in the everyday lineup for Ford, Canzone and Cade Marlowe. Ford and Canzone are swinging the hotter bats of the three at the moment and may have an edge on playing time over Marlowe.

AUGUST 23, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

On base thrice as late addition Ford went 2-for-2 with an RBI single, a walk and a run in a win over the White Sox on Tuesday.

Impact Ford was a late fill-in for Julio Rodriguez (illness) and made good use of the spot start, producing his first multi-hit effort since July 18. The multiple trips on the basepaths also pushed Ford's OBP back over the .300 mark (.307) for the season, and he appears to be slowly trending back up following a prolonged slump by hitting a respectable .263 and striking out a modest 16.7 percent of the time over his last six games.

AUGUST 23, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Enters lineup Ford will bat eighth and serve as the designated hitter Tuesday against the White Sox.

Impact Ford was a late addition to the lineup after Julio Rodriguez (illness) was scratched. He has only three hits across 28 at-bats since the start of August while striking out at a 27.3 percent clip.

AUGUST 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Belts 12th homer Friday Ford went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Astros on Friday.

Impact Ford's sixth-inning blast off J.P. France accounted for the second and final run of the night. The journeyman slugger's round-tripper was his first since July 23, a 12-game span that saw Ford limp to a .063 average and .283 OPS while striking out at a 43.2 percent clip over 37 plate appearances. He's continued to log relatively regular playing time despite the significant struggles, but it remains to be seen how much longer that will persist on a team contending for a wild-card spot.

AUGUST 19, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Julio Rodríguez and Mike Ford homer, Bryce Miller works 6 solid innings as Mariners beat Astros 2-0

Julio Rodríguez and Mike Ford homered, Bryce Miller threw 6 1/3 shutout innings and the Seattle Mariners extended their winning streak to four games with a 2-0 win over the Houston...

AUGUST 19, 2023

Snaps out of slump Monday Ford went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a loss to the Royals on Monday.

Impact Ford entered the game mired in an 0-for-13 slump over his previous five games, and Monday's two-bagger was his first extra-base hit since July 23. The journeyman slugger had been surging at the plate at that point, but he's subsequently experienced a 43-point drop in batting average to .221 thanks in large part to a mammoth 47.1 percent strikeout rate over the following 11 contests.

AUGUST 15, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sitting again Friday Ford is out of the lineup again Friday versus the Angels.

Impact Ford is slashing just .130/.216/.283 with 25 strikeouts over his last 51 plate appearances dating back to July 15 and seems to have been relegated to a bench role. Cal Raleigh is serving as the Mariners' designated hitter Friday as Tom Murphy handles the catching duties.

AUGUST 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE