Dodgers News: Ryan Ward Added to 40-Man Roster
After year's in the minor leagues, Ryan Ward was finally added to the 40-man roster
LOS ANGELES, CA—While the Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly exercised their two club options on veteran third baseman Max Muncy (1-year, $10 million) and left-hander Alex Vesia (1-year, $3.55 million), the team has also added minor league outfielder Ryan Ward to the 40-man roster, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Ward, 27, had a career year with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Comets, slugging 36 home runs, driving in 122 runs, stealing 16 bases, and posting a .937 OPS. Still, despite that production, the team never promoted him, even though Los Angeles clearly needed production from left field throughout the summer.
Ward finished with a .290/.380/.557 batting line, a 132 wRC+ for the Comets this season. He led all of minor league baseball in home runs (36), RBIs (122), extra-base hits (73), and total bases (315). During the week of July 7-13, he earned PCL player of the week honors by batting .429/.556/.857, with six extra-base hits, six walks, and six RBIs over six games against Sugar Land.
Ward’s season totals earned him the PCL MVP, making him the second Dodgers prospect in three seasons to win the award, after former Dodgers infielder Michael Busch.
Ward was also selected for the PCL All-Star team as a designated hitter, along with outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who hit .304/.412/.511 with 16 home runs and 63 stolen bases in Triple-A this season.
Entering the offseason, Ward was one of several Dodgers prospects that was eligible for the Rule-5 Draft in December; however, adding him to the 40-man protects him from that fate now.
Any other Dodgers prospect that is eligible that the team would like to protect must be added to the 40-man roster by November 18th.
In his minor league career, Ward has slashed .265/.341/.503 with a .844 OPS while playing league-average defense in the outfield, and entering the 2026 season, it seems likely for now that he’ll be in consideration for the open corner outfield spot with the free agency departure of Michael Conforto.
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