Seattle Mariners add Mike Ford from Triple-A at start of road trip

Mike Ford has been one of the best hitters at the Triple-A level this season. Now he’ll get a chance to show if his huge season in the minors will translate with the Seattle Mariners.

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The slugging Ford has been selected from the Tacoma Rainiers, Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate, ahead of the team’s eight-game road trip that begins at 5:05 p.m. Friday night in Texas. Ford is in the lineup for Friday’s game, hitting eighth as the Mariners’ designated hitter.

Taylor Trammell was optioned to Tacoma on Thursday to clear space on the 26-man active roster for Ford, per Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports.

Ford, a 30-year-old first baseman who hits from the left side, owns a .302/.427/.605 slash line for a 1.032 OPS with 13 home runs, 56 RBIs and 34 walks to 30 strikeouts over 49 games with the Rainiers. He is second in the Pacific Coast League this season in RBIs, fourth in OPS, tied for fourth in homers and tied for seventh in walks.

Mike check 1-2-1-2…403 feet.

Mike Ford's pro baseball-leading 46th RBI. pic.twitter.com/tys4vyfYLD

— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) May 13, 2023

On Thursday, Ford exercised his option to opt out of his minor league deal with the Mariners, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, at which point he would become a free agent if Seattle did not then promote him to the majors. According to Drayer, the team was likely to call Ford up before the Texas series regardless of if he opted out.

Ford has appeared in 151 career MLB games with four teams since 2019, including 16 with the Mariners in 2022. He has .201/.301/.387 slash for a .688 OPS with 20 home runs over his time in the big leagues.

In addition to being on the Mariners roster at times in each of the past two years, Ford was with the organization in spring training in 2017 as a Rule 5 selection from the Yankees. He was returned to New York when he did not make Seattle’s MLB roster out of camp.

Trammell, a 25-year-old outfielder, has a .133/.278/.333 slash with three homers with the M’s this year, hitting just 6 for 45 in 20 games.

Coverage of the Seattle Mariners’ series against the American League West-leading Rangers will be carried on Seattle Sports beginning at 4 p.m. Friday with the pregame show. For details on how to stream the radio broadcast, click here.

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