Dodgers ship Ryan Ward back to Triple-A

The plan appears to be for him to get regular days off initially. There was some thought of Hernández returning this weekend, but the Dodgers will hold off until the series in Sacramento. Ryan Ward figures to lose his spot when Hernández is activated, and Tommy Edman will begin playing more second base at Alex Freeland’s expense.

It was Hernández’s first rehab game since going on the injured list on May 29th. He’ll likely take the rest of the week to get his at-bats in and then should return to the Dodgers lineup. That will push Ryan Ward back to the bench or the minors.

The outfielder has been sidelined since May 28th with a hamstring strain. If his live batting practice goes well, he should begin a short rehab stint next week. That means that Ryan Ward may only have a little more than one week as a starting outfielder for the Dodgers.

Ward’s round-tripper came off Carmen Mlodzinski, handing Los Angeles a 6-1 lead the bullpen would later surrender. He has started in left field against seven of nine right-handers since being recalled from Triple-A. Ward has sat against three lefties, however, as he is currently in a strict platoon with Alex Call.

It’s the best-case scenario for the Dodgers and fantasy managers as Hernández is likely to only miss a couple weeks. Los Angeles opted to bring up Ryan Ward, who is finally getting a real opportunity at the highest level after years at Triple-A, as a short-term stopgap. It sounds like they considered bringing up red-hot prospect James Tibbs III, but he’s been dealing with a forearm issues that has limited him to DH exclusively of late. His opportunity figures to come later this summer.

He’ll take the place of the injured Teoscar Hernandez on the Dodgers’ active roster. Ward is just 2-for-6 (.333) with one RBI during his limited action with the Dodgers this season. He is not in the starting lineup for Friday night’s battle against Zack Wheeler and the Phillies.

Tibbs took Astros elite closer Josh Hader deep to cap off his third multi-homer performance of the season. The 23-year-old slugging outfield prospect won’t be receiving the call to replace an injured Teoscar Hernández (hamstring) with the Dodgers turning to Ryan Ward instead as a temporary stopgap. However, he’s certainly shown enough to be under consideration as a mid-to-late season call-up as a platoon specialist.

It’s a perfectly logical move in the wake of Teoscar Hernández’s upcoming placement on the injured list. Ward has hit .254/.379/.418 in 214 Triple-A plate appearances this year, but hit 36 homers last year at Oklahoma City. He’ll likely make up a platoon with Alex Call for the short term. Ward could be on the more active side of the platoon, giving him some short-term fantasy value in a good lineup to hit in.

It seems like a possibility that Hernández will require a trip to the injured list, depending on the severity. The 33-year-old veteran slugger suffered the injury while attempting to beat out attempting to beat out a second-inning grounder. He was replaced in left field by Hyeseong Kim. There should be some additional clarity on his status prior to Friday’s series opener against the Phillies. There’s no shortage of options for the Dodgers in the upper minors with Ryan Ward and Alek Thomas representing in-house options already on the 40-man roster while prospect James Tibbs III might be a consideration as a potential solution. Tommy Edman (ankle) is at least another week or two away from returning from the injured list.

Ward’s first opportunity with the Dodgers lasted only a couple days while Freddie Freeman was away from the club on paternity leave. He went 2-for-6 with an RBI in a pair of contests. The 28-year-old has nothing left to prove at the Triple-A level, but his path to at-bats in the majors remains blocked at the moment. He would likely be the first call for Los Angeles if they needed to bring someone up this summer.