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Mike Ford returns to Japan; Officially Signs with Yokohama DeNA BayStars

 David Polli - World Baseball Network  |    Jul 8th, 2025 2:15pm EDT

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball have officially signed first baseman Mike Ford to a contract. Ford returns to Yokohama, where he was a key part of their 2024 Japan Series championship run.

Ford signed with the BayStars last summer and played 41 games for their farm team before being promoted toward the end of the regular season.

Although Ford did not put up great numbers in his six regular-season games, he was selected for the postseason roster. In the playoffs, Ford was very productive, posting a .333/.412/.600 slash line in 17 postseason plate appearances.

Ford is a New Jersey native and played college baseball at Princeton University. He signed with his childhood favorite team, the New York Yankees, as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2019 and has played six years in MLB with six different teams.

Ford owns a career 93 OPS+ in his MLB time, and his power has made him a well-sought-after bat to fill a foreign player slot in NPB. According to Gaijin Baseball on X.com, four different NPB teams were interested in adding Ford to their rosters before he decided to return to Yokohama.

This move comes around the same time the BayStars signed first baseman Dayán Viciedo to a deal. With these two foreign power bats, the BayStars are looking to get back over .500 and overcome their eight-and-a-half-game deficit for first place in the Central League. Ford is one of multiple mid-season imports to NPB that can make a difference come playoff time. 

NPB Mid-Season Imports: Gonzalez, Voit, Ford

WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/nippon-professional-baseball/

Photo: New York Yankees’ Mike Ford tosses his bat after hitting a pinch-hit, walk-off, solo home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, in New York. The Yankees defeated Oakland 5-4 in the game. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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David Polli - World Baseball Network