The Washington Nationals are on the verge of heading down to West Palm Beach in Florida for spring training, and just like every other team, pitchers and catchers will be reporting first. One guy who will have a lot of watchful eyes upon him once camp opens will be arguably the prized acqusition of the offseason for the organization.
Purely based off prospect rankings, there is a very real argument that catcher Harry Ford, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners earlier this offseason, is the crown jewel of all the new players the Nationals welcomed into their organization. While in future years, guys like Gavin Fien might surpass Ford on a prospect level, Ford is the most highly touted prospect acquired this offseason that will likely debut in 2025.
Of course, with the World Baseball Classic kicking off in early March, Nationals fans will get an early look at the guy that many are hoping emerges as the backstop of the future for the organization, and it really will be a great warm-up to the season for Ford. The timing is a bit odd, as Ford will report down to Florida first for spring training before linking up with Team Great Britain for the WBC, but it will be a great chance to see Ford on a big stage.
He excelled the last time he played in the event, and it was part of the reason his prospect stock began to soar, obviously combined with his outstanding numbers. But besides his background, Ford made a key decision within the last couple of weeks that could have a lasting impact on his long-term future with the Nationals, should he pan out.
Nationals fans have long been frustrated watching Scott Boras clients like Juan Soto and MacKenzie Gore be traded due to not being able to get a long-term extension done, and it was an underlying footnote to the Ford deal when it happened. However, Ford recently switched agencies from the Boras Corporation to Roc Nation Sports, which also represents fellow National CJ Abrams.
You might remember that the Nationals and Abrams held extension talks in the middle of the 2024 season when he was in the middle of his breakout, and Roc Nation clients do not have the rep that Boras guys do in that they are not opposed to extensions. So this begs the question, could the Nationals extend Ford?
As of right now, it seems unlikely. While some teams extend guys before they even get their feet wet in the big leagues like the Brewers with Jackson Chourio or the Red Sox Kristian Campbell, that has not been the way of the Nationals. Combine that history with the fact that the Nationals already sunk a lot of money into a bad contract with a catcher in Keibert Ruiz, and you can understand why the organization would be hesitant to pay another catcher.
However, with a forward-thinking front office and a guy in Toboni who was in Boston when early extensions got done with Campbell and former top prospect in baseball Roman Anthony, it would not be out of the question that Ford could get an extension if he breaks out and shows a lot of promise early on.
Do you want the Nationals to seek out an extension with top prospect Harry Ford? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.