Former Seattle Mariners catching prospect Harry Ford was optioned to Triple-A Rochester by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

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Ford, 23, was a top prospect in the Mariners’ organization and a top-100 prospect in all of baseball for multiple years after being selected 12th overall in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft, but his path to regular playing time in the major leagues was blocked by American League MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh.

After a stellar showing in Triple-A where he produced a .408 on-base percentage, .868 OPS and 16 homers in 97 games with Tacoma, Ford had a cup of coffee with the M’s last season when he was called up as rosters expanded to 28 players in September. Ford appeared in eight games and went 1 for 6 with an RBI, which included a walkoff sac fly against the Los Angels Angels on Sept. 11. He added a single in his only plate appearance during the playoffs.

With Ford’s future in Seattle murky due to a lack of opportunities at catcher, the Mariners sent him and minor league pitcher Isaac Lyon to the Nationals on Dec. 6 in exchange for left-handed reliever Jose A. Ferrer, who is expected to fill a high-leverage role with the M’s.

Ford was 3 for 14 with one double, two RBIs and three walks to seven strikeouts in seven games for Washington this spring. He also went 3 for 15 with one home run and two RBIs over four games while playing for Great Britain during the World Baseball Classic.

The decision to start Ford in Triple-A means the Nationals will open the season with Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas as their catching options.

The 27-year-old Ruiz is the returning starter and a former top prospect who was acquired in a 2021 trade that sent right-hander Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he missed the final three months of last season due to lingering symptoms from two concussions suffered over the span of one month. Ruiz is signed through the 2030 season with club options for 2031 and 2032.

First-year Nationals manager Blake Butera told reporters Wednesday that Ford is still very much a part of the club’s plans moving forward.

“I told Harry today when we sent him down, he’s going to be a huge part of our future,” manager Blake Butera said via NatsJournal.com’s Mark Zuckerman. “Him going to Triple-A right now has nothing to do with we don’t think highly of him anymore. No, that’s not it. And it’s not anything he did or didn’t do right or wrong.”

Ford is Washington’s third-ranked prospect and No. 71 league-wide, per MLB Pipeline.

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