LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Mariners manager Scott Servais won't need introductions when first baseman Mike Ford arrives at Spring Training as the club's new Rule 5 Draft selection out of the Yankees organization.
Servais has closely followed Ford's career after the 25-year-old played with his son, Tyler Servais, for two of his three seasons at Princeton University, where Ford was the Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Year in 2013 as a two-way player.
Ford, who has developed impressively as a hitter in the Yankees' system after going undrafted out of Princeton, will be given a shot to crack the Mariners' roster this spring after being the 11th player taken in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft at the conclusion of the Winter Meetings.