One week after Ryan Ward was designated for assignment, he is moving on from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and now will be part of the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB), according to Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic.
Ward’s move to Japan was completed by way of the Dodgers selling his contract to the Dragons. Ward had not been claimed off waivers in the days following his removal from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster so that Kris Bubic could be activated off the 60-day injured list.
With no takers for his services, the Dodgers had a decision to make regarding the 28-year-old’s future. Any player DFA’d must either be traded or placed on outright or unconditional release waivers within seven days of the transaction, and the Dodgers were approaching that deadline.
Dodgers sold the recently-DFA’d Ryan Ward to the NPB’s Chunichi Dragons.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 22, 2026
L.A. could have outrighted Ward to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but instead did what was in his best interest by allowing him to continue his career elsewhere.
The Dodgers gave Ward his first shot in the Majors this year after toiling away in the Minors for seven seasons. He put together a serviceable performance in the 20 games, batting .218/.283/.455 with a 100 wRC+.
Ward’s 2026 season with the Comets was not as prolific compared to last year’s performance that won him Pacific Coast League MVP. The 28-year-old’s offensive production dipped across the board, including a 158-point drop in on-base plus slugging percentage.
Ward is poised to play in NPB in the short term, with the possibility of a return to MLB sometime in the future.
Ryan Ward’s Minor League career
Ward finished with 784 Minor League games played in his time with the Dodgers organization. In that time, he hit .263/.342/.493 with 148 doubles, 168 home runs and 588 RBI.
He racked up six Player of the Week Award, one Player of the Month honor, two All-Star recognitions and one MVP across all levels in his seven Minor League seasons.
MLB Pipeline ranked Ward as the Dodgers’ No. 20 overall prospect in 2026, marking the first time in his career he landed inside the top 30.
Ward appeared in 20 games for the Dodgers this season, hitting .218/.283/.455 with three home runs, 12 RBI and eight runs scored. He hit .248/.349/.429 with 18 home runs, 82 RBI and 71 runs scored for the Comets in 2026.
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