Seattle Mariners Trade Away Top 50 Prospect to the Washington Nationals
On the brink of the 2025 Winter Meetings, the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals have agreed to a trade. The trade involves a top-50 prospect and a pair of pitchers being moved across the country. Let’s take a deeper dive into the trade and discuss what this move means for both teams.
Seattle Mariners Trade for Bullpen Help
The Seattle Mariners were able to acquire southpaw reliever Jose A. Ferrer in this deal, per Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. He has pitched in the majors for small stints, but just completed his rookie season as the closer for the Nats. He was 4-4 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.271 WHIP in 72 games while recording 11 saves as well.
This gives the Mariners another body in the backend of their bullpen, who now has a potential Ferrer-Brash-Munoz matchup for the final three innings of a game. This also gives them another pitcher who has closed out games before.
This move for Seattle is significant as well, as Ferrer is not arbitration eligible until 2027 and is not a free agent until 2030, giving them significant time before needing to decide to pay him. General manager Justin Hollander did mention weeks ago that he wanted to improve the bullpen and now has done just that.
Washington Nationals Acquire Significant Prospect
The Washington Nationals have added right-handed pitcher Isaac Lyon and catcher Harry Ford, who is the 42nd-ranked prospect in baseball. The 22-year-old catcher could be a massive candidate to play with Keibert Ruiz also on the team. This move probably means backup catcher Riley Adams’ days with the Nats are numbered as well.
The addition of Lyon is another body, who has struggled in the minors. In Single-A, he made four starts and was 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA and a 1.541 WHIP over 12.1 innings. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Grand Canyon University, so he is seemingly a lottery ticket in the move as well.
For Ford, this is a chance for more playing time as getting appearances behind Ruiz is a lot more likely in 2026 than behind Cal Raleigh. The Nationals have been rumored to be looking to make trades for more minor league talent, and they now have four players in the top 100 and three in the top 50 prospects. It will be intriguing to follow these three players to see who wins the trade.
