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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SEATTLE – The Seattle Kraken saw nearly every mistake they made on Tuesday night end up in the back of their net in a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nikita Kucherov had a hat trick and two assists for a five-point night to lead the Lightning as the league’s second-leading scorer capitalized on multiple Seattle miscues.

Three goals came directly off Kraken turnovers, and the fourth came on a bad line change, and the fifth on a power play as Philipp Grubauer was repeatedly hung out to dry in goal. Grubauer allowed five goals on 24 shots, but had practically no chance on all of them.

“Our mistakes were really catastrophic,” head coach Lane Lambert said. “Obviously, some really, really poor decisions. … We’re making some mistakes here that you can’t make. I’m not even going to say they’re uncharacteristic, because apparently they are at the moment.”

Bobby McMann scored his fourth goal in three games since being cleared to join the Kraken lineup, and Jared McCann also scored for Seattle. However, they were unable to completely erase a 3-0 Tampa lead as they were unable to extend their winning streak to three games.

The Lightning looked like a well-oiled machine for the first 21 minutes of action in building their three-goal advantage.

McCann got trapped on the wall at the Seattle blue line as Gage Goncalves checked McCann off the puck and beat Grubauer off passes from Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point for a 1-0 lead.

Late in the first period, Kucherov picked the puck off the stick of Ben Meyers in the Kraken zone and buried a tap-in goal off a give-and-go with Brandon Hagel for a 2-0 lead.

Kucherov got his second less than a minute into the second period as Seattle got caught in a bad change. A stretch pass from Darren Raddysh caught the Kraken out-numbered with Kucherov serving as the beneficiary of another tap-in goal off passes from Hagel and Anthony Cirelli for a 3-0 advantage.

“They do a good job in the neutral zone,” said McMann, who played the Lightning in the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “They make it hard to enter the zone and get possession or establish a forecheck. I think that’s probably the biggest strength of the game. And then if you’re not diligent with the puck and you turn it over, I think, they go the other way pretty good and they have the skill to make it count.”

However, it took just 10 seconds for the Kraken to answer to get back into the contest on McMann’s fourth goal in three games with Seattle. Matty Beniers made a leaping stop to keep the puck in the offensive zone and set up McMann while falling to the ice. McMann sniped a shot over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s right shoulder from the left dot to cut the lead to 3-1.

McCann added a goal just as a power play expired midway through the period to trim the Lightning lead to 3-2 at the break. After generating almost nothing on the power play, McCann led one last rush into Tampa’s zone and found his way in front of goal with the puck, lifting a shot by Vasilevskiy to make it a one-goal game.

A hooking penalty on Charle-Edouard D’Astous gave the Kraken a power play chance to tie the game shortly afterward that Seattle was unable to convert. After Grubauer made a stellar save on Brandon Hagel to keep in a one-goal game, Vasilevskiy made a big stop on a Freddy Gaudreau chance to preserve Tampa’s advantage.

A missed slashing call from Hagel on Beniers allowed Tampa to turn another ‘turnover’ into a goal as Cirelli cleaned up a loose puck in front of Grubauer for a 4-2 lead.

Vasilevskiy delivered two more big saves on Adam Larsson and Jordan Eberle to prevent the Kraken from cutting into the lead before the Lightning put the game firmly away.

Hagel added a power play goal with McMann in the box for a boarding penalty against D’Astous. Kucherov, Goncalves and Hagel combined for a great passing sequence that again left Grubauer defenseless.

“These mistakes are really costing us and Grubi had no chance on all the goals,” Lambert said.

“The penalty kill goal that they scored off the rush at the end is inexcusable. You know, we can’t give that goal up. we made a mistake, and these mistakes have to stop.”

Kucherov polished off the hat trick with an empty net goal for his 37th goal of the season as he moved in front of Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for second in the league in points at 111, trailing only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (115). 

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SEATTLE — Police say a man caused nearly a quarter of a million dollars in damage after breaking into Chihuly Garden and Glass and attacking security guards late Monday night.

Officers with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) responded to Seattle Center around 11 p.m. after receiving reports of a man smashing glass and attempting to stab security staff.

According to investigators, security guards encountered the suspect while patrolling the museum. Police say the man had already broken glass displays and began throwing shards at one guard while attempting to stab him multiple times. The guard was able to escape without injury and waited for officers to arrive.

“[The suspect] had broken the glass, he actively threw glass at the security guard and was actively trying to stab that security guard multiple times with the piece of glass,” SPD Det. Brian Pritchard said. “Security was able to break away, leave the area for his safety.”

Video from the scene shows officers rushing toward the museum as the situation unfolded.

Shards of glass were scattered throughout the property, and the damage is estimated at nearly $250,000.

“It’s ridiculous. I don’t know why people can’t just let nice things stand,” said Bonnie O’Brien, who was visiting from Arizona. “It’s art for everyone to enjoy—it doesn’t hurt anybody.”

Despite the destruction, museum officials said crews were able to clean up the damage quickly, and the museum reopened as scheduled the following day. Visitors reported they did not notice any closed-off areas or visible signs of the incident.

“Really sad, disappointed that somebody would damage some of that artwork,” said Brian Dugan, visiting from Oklahoma.

Police arrested the 40-year-old suspect, identified as Alexander Taylor Weis, at the scene. Authorities say he later refused to appear in court, but a judge found probable cause to hold him in custody on charges including burglary, assault, and a dozen counts of malicious mischief.

According to the initial arrest report, the suspect damaged 12 items valued at approximately $20,000 each.

“There’s really no words,” said Gary Rockafield, another visitor. “The time and effort it takes to make these things and put them on display just to have someone come in and do that.”

Museum officials say the damaged artwork has been removed and is expected to be replaced in the coming weeks.

Investigators have not yet said how the suspect was able to enter the museum. Museum officials also declined to comment on whether any security changes will be made following the incident.