Ford became a free agent Friday after being non-tendered by the Mariners.
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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Dropped from 40-man roster
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Ford was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Tuesday.
Ford was probably going to be non-tendered ahead of Friday's deadline had he remained part of the 40-man roster mix in Seattle. The 31-year-old served as the Mariners' primary designated hitter for a portion of the 2023 season but batted just .193 with a .663 OPS over his final 130 plate appearances. He'll likely elect free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Sits against southpaw
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Ford will hit the bench against lefty Andrew Heaney and the Rangers on Saturday.
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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: On base three times in loss
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Ford went 2-for-3 with a walk in a loss to the Dodgers on Sunday.
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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Leaves yard again Monday
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Ford went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Reds on Monday.
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 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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Resting Sunday
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Ford is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.
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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Blasts 12th homer
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Ford went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and an additional run scored in Saturday's 15-2 win over the Royals.
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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Heads to bench Wednesday
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Ford is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.
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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: On base thrice as late addition
Rotowire
Ford went 2-for-2 with an RBI single, a walk and a run in a win over the White Sox on Tuesday.
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. He's hitting a respectable .263 and striking out a modest 16.7 percent of the time over his last six games.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Belts 12th homer Friday
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Ford went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Astros on Friday.
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 somewhat regular playing time despite the significant struggles, but it remains to be seen how much longer that will continue on a team contending for a wild-card spot.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Snaps out of slump Monday
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Ford went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a loss to the Royals on Monday.
Ford entered the night 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.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Sitting again Thursday
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Ford remains out of the lineup Thursday against the Angels.
Teoscar Hernandez will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter as they face off against Shohei Ohtani. Cade Marlowe, Julio Rodriguez and Dominic Canzone are starting across the outfield. Ford has posted a solid .817 OPS since joining Seattle in early June, but he's fallen into a deep offensive rut and is hitting just .149 since the All-Star break.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: On bench Wednesday
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Ford is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox.
Ford had some big hits for the Mariners in the early part of July, but he is slashing just .130/.216/.283 over his last 51 plate appearances. Cal Raleigh will serve as Seattle's designated hitter Wednesday with Tom Murphy handling the catching duties.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Sitting Saturday
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Ford isn't in the Mariners' lineup Saturday against Arizona.
Ford is currently in the middle of an 0-for-13 stretch at the plate across his last four games, so he'll take a seat Saturday to regroup. Cal Raleigh will fill in as Seattle's designated hitter, allowing Tom Murphy to start behind the dish and bat seventh.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Snaps out of slump Tuesday
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Ford went 2-for-4 with a double in a loss to the Twins on Tuesday.
Ford broke out of a funk with his first multi-hit effort of the second half, snapping an 0-for-10 slump that had encompassed his previous three games. The journeyman has locked in regular playing time against right-handed pitching with his best all-around big-league stint to date, as he's sporting a career-high .271 average and .934 OPS partly by averaging one extra-base hit every 7.6 plate appearances.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Delivers as pinch hitter
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Ford entered Friday's loss to the Tigers as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and hit a solo home run in his only plate appearance.
Ford's 363-foot shot to right field brought the Mariners within a run, but Seattle ultimately failed to score again. The slugger has now left the yard in three of his last seven games overall, a span in which he's posted a .429 average and 1.526 OPS with seven extra-base hits and six RBI across 23 plate appearances.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Ford will sit Saturday against Houston.
Ford hits the bench after starting seven straight contests, a stretch in which he hit .458 with a pair of homers. Teoscar Hernandez will rest his legs in Ford's usual designated hitter spot Saturday, with Dylan Moore taking Hernandez's place in right field.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Big game in win
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Ford went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, two walks, four RBI and three runs scored in Friday's 10-1 win over the Astros.
Ford plated two runs with a double in the fourth inning and tacked on a solo shot in the ninth. It's the second time in the last four games he's racked up multiple extra-base hits. The 31-year-old is batting .282 with eight homers, 17 RBI, 15 runs scored and three doubles over 86 plate appearances, and his strong hitting in July is helping him hold down the designated hitter spot versus right-handed pitchers.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: Continues getting on base Monday
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Ford went 2-for-3 with a walk in a win over the Giants on Monday.
While Ford didn't connect for anything more impactful than a single, his performance is noteworthy in that it extends what has been a torrid stretch at the plate for the journeyman. Factoring in Monday's production, the slugger owns a .391 average, 1.114 OPS, two home runs, six RBI, three walks and three runs over his last eight games, a stretch during which he's also produced three multi-hit efforts and a refreshingly modest 19.2 percent strikeout rate.
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Mariners' Mike Ford: On base thrice in win
Rotowire
Ford went 1-for-2 with an RBI single and two walks in a win over the Rays on Saturday.
Ford drove in the first run of the game with his timely second-inning knock that plated Jarred Kelenic, and he subsequently kept up his recent constant presence on the basepaths with his pair of free passes. Ford is 6-for-16 with two home runs, four RBI, Saturday's two walks and three runs in his last six games, reaching safely at a .375 clip in that span. Despite a lackluster .214 average and .262 on-base percentage for the season, Ford's notable power upside captured by his .536 slugging percentage helps explain his near-everyday playing time at designated hitter.
