Ryan

Ward

It’s a little surprising that Ward is clearing waivers, but maybe word leaked that he wanted to go to Japan. The 28-year-old Ward made his MLB debut this year, hitting .218/.283/.455 in 60 plate appearances for the Dodgers. He was the PCL MVP after hitting 36 homers for Triple-A Oklahoma City last year.

Ward is finally free from Los Angeles’ corner outfield and DH logjam after spending the last few years tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 28-year-old figures to attract plenty of interest on waivers and should benefit exponentially from a change of scenery. It’ll be interesting to see where he winds up from a fantasy standpoint.

Ward heads back to the minors with veteran slugger Teoscar Hernández returning from the injured list for Monday’s series opener against the Athletics. The 28-year-old has hit .218 (12-for-55) with three homers and 12 RBI across 60 plate appearances in 20 games this season, his first real opportunity after years dominating the Pacific Coast League. He’s earned a real shot in the majors, but there simply isn’t room for him given Los Angeles’ overabundance of corner outfield depth. It would make sense if he were shipped elsewhere at the upcoming trade deadline.

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.