Huh.
Mike Ford broke out in a big way in a small-sample stretch run for the New York Yankees back in 2019, and despite scuffling for several seasons after that he found enough time to swat 16 homers for the Seattle Mariners in 2023.
He’s got a decent-enough bat, the kind of offensive player who is probably big league caliber for the benches of most clubs – even if he brings nothing to the table defensively. So, it’s not a big story in a vacuum to see that the Cincinnati Reds (and their horrendous offense) have signed Mike Ford to a big league deal. That’s what MLB Network insider Jon Heyman relayed earlier on Wednesday, noting Ford with report today.
Mike Ford goes back to the Reds, this time on MLB deal. Reports today.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 8, 2024
What’s odd, though, is that the Reds just made their wave of roster moves yesterday to get TJ Friedl and Conner Capel on the roster as position player reinforcements, with the struggling Nick Martini and Bubba Thompson being optioned. On top of that, Ford had already been part of the Reds organization, plying his trade at AAA Louisville until an opt-out clause in his roster triggered last week and the Reds did not promote him to the roster then.
So, what changed in the last week? Was there some language in the initial contract that the Reds didn’t want to be stuck with? Was it the amount of money on said contract, reportedly only in the ~$1.3 million range?
Or, are we about to get some more bad news from some other section of the roster, news that the Reds did not have last week when initially making their call on Ford’s status?
We’ll find out for sure in a couple of hours when the Reds announce this move (and the corresponding one), but the timing of this entire saga is quite curious.
UPDATE [2:36 PM ET]
So that wrist injury that Christian Encarnacion-Strand has had for awhile and tried (poorly) to play through that the Reds already knew about? Turns out that’s going to send him to the 10-day IL, finally, and that’s why Mike Ford is back.
It’s impossible not to ask what the hell is going on with this all.
The #Reds today announced the following transactions: pic.twitter.com/PtWC5Njyqj
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 8, 2024