The Minnesota Twins enter the new year in search of a first baseman. On Thursday, Jon Morosi announced on X that the Twins announced that Mike Ford signed a minor-league contract.
Ford started his professional baseball career as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton University with the New York Yankees in 2013. After six years in the Yankees farm system, Ford was called up in April 2019 to take over for an injured Greg Bird. In 50 games, Ford hit 259/.350/.559 and delivered the first-ever pinch-hit walk-off home run by a Yankee rookie on September 1, 2019.
Ford's production in the 2019 season earned him more opportunities, but he never could recreate the same success. The following two seasons saw Ford produce an abysmal 46 OPS+ in 51 games, which led to him being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in June 2021.
That trade began a series of transactions between Ford and multiple MLB team. The Nationals claimed Ford on August 23, 2021, and he played at Triple-A Rochester before being non-tendered after the season. Ford's 2022 season saw him bounce around between the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, and the Los Angeles Angels, where he appeared in 50 games between the four franchises.
In 2023, Ford remained with one franchise, the Seattle Mariners, throughout the season. Ford produced 0.8 bWAR in 83 games with the Mariners, where he batted .220/.315/.414 with a 106 OPS+. Last season, Ford played 17 games with the Cincinnati Reds before signing a contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League.
Ford comes to Minnesota to compete for a first base position with many questions heading into 2025. MLB options such as Christian Walker and Paul Goldschmidt signed free-agent contracts with other teams. Last year's Gold Glove winner, Carlos Santana, a pleasant surprise for the Twins in 2024, returned to Cleveland on a one-year contract. Darren Wolfson suggested that Ryan Mountcastle of the Baltimore Orioles is an option if the Twins are interested in a trade.
Regardless, signing Ford is a low-cost, low-risk signing to add to the first-base competition.