The Los Angeles Dodgers are calling up outfielder/first baseman Ryan Ward from Triple-A Oklahoma City and are expected to activate him this weekend, according to The Athletic.
Ward, 28, earned Pacific Coast League MVP honors last season with a slash line of .290/.380/.557 with 36 home runs, 31 doubles, 122 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 652 plate appearances.
The Dodgers’ 2019 eighth-round draft pick came into this year ranked as the team’s No. 19 prospect by MLB.com and just outside the organization’s top 20 minor-leaguers by The Athletic. This season, he’s batting .324/.432/.588 with four homers, six doubles, 14 RBI and three steals in 18 games.
While Ward’s production warrants a call-up to the majors, it’s unclear as to where he’ll play in the Dodgers’ lineup. Shohei Ohtani is entrenched as the designated hitter and Freddie Freeman mans first base. Teoscar Hernández doesn’t need a left-handed bat to platoon with him (he’s batting .313/. 306/.604 versus right-handed pitching this season), and Kyle Tucker bats left-handed in right field.
As a team, the Dodgers lead MLB with a .289 average and .864 OPS against right-handers, powered by the likes of Ohtani, Freeman, Tucker (who’s off to a slow start) and Max Muncy.
However, Ward would provide a left-handed power bat off the bench for a Dodgers roster that only has Dalton Rushing to bat from that side of the plate. Last season, Ward batted .319/.402/.636 in 463 PAs against right-handed pitching.
“The thing I like about Ryan is he’s performed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the California Post during spring training. “We’ve asked him to do certain things, whether it’s positional versatility or cutting back on the strikeouts, hit for a little more power. He’s done all that.”
The Dodgers have not yet officially announced Ward’s call-up and thus haven’t revealed a corresponding roster move to open a spot for him. One possibility could be infielder Miguel Rojas going on the bereavement list after his father died on April 7. Rojas stayed with the team afterward.
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