Mike

Ford

Ford was designated for assignment on Wednesday, but won’t report to the minor leagues. The 31-year-old journeyman first baseman hit .150 with one home run in 17 games for the Reds. He’ll hope to catch on with another team.

Ford hit .150/.177/.233 over 62 plate appearances in his three weeks with the Reds. Taking him out of the mix means more time at first base for Spencer Steer and DH for Nick Martini, though it’d already been trending that way anyway.

Ford will not get the start even with right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the bump for the Dodgers. Nick Martini is the designated hitter and hitting sixth while Ford is on the bench.

To the surprise of absolutely no one who has seen Ford play, that’s the first triple of his MLB career. The 31-year-old drove in a run on the three-bagger and another with a single in the sixth. Ford is going to see time at first base with Christian Encarnacion-Strand, but he isn’t likely to do enough with that time to be worth a fantasy addition.

Ford returns to the Reds organization after he was released just four days ago. The 31-year-old decided to opt out of his minor league deal last week. He’ll give the team some useful depth, especially in light of Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s injury.

Ford technically opted out of his minor-league deal after not being recalled from Triple-A, but by MLB definition he gets his walking papers. Ford hit well in the International League with six homers and a .919 OPS over 91 at-bats, and he should see interest on the free-agent market.

After he was granted his release by Cincinnati to explore other options, Ford is back with the Reds and will begin the season in the minors. The 31-year-old slugger batted .455 (15-for-33) with three homers in 10 contests this spring. It’s surprising that no other team wanted to pick up Ford, but he’ll have to wait for his major league opportunity while in the Reds’ farm system.

Ford has been granted his release to find a new opportunity rather than open the season in the minors. The 31-year-old slugger batted .455 (15-for-33) with three homers in 10 contests this spring. He crushed two homers on Thursday evening against the Mariners, his former team, and figures to generate some interest on the open market. He should be able to land a minor league pact somewhere in the coming days.

Ford will begin his season down in the minors, but he leaves Reds camp with a solid camp after going 15-for-33 (.455 AVG) with three home runs and eight RBI in just 10 games. Cincinnati opted to go with Nick Martini at first base due to him and Ford both being left-handed hitters. If Martini goes down with an injury, Ford would more than likely find his way back in the lineup this season.

Ford came back to haunt his former team with solo homers off lefties Jhonathan Diaz and Tayler Saucedo in the second and sixth innings, respectively. It’s a bit unclear how exactly he fits into Cincinnati’s offensive mix, but his path to an Opening Day roster spot has gotten a bit clearer due to all of the injuries and suspension that the Reds are dealing with to open the year.