The Los Angeles Dodgers reinstated Freddie Freeman from the paternity list and optioned Ryan Ward to Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.
Freeman missed two games against the Colorado Rockies due to the birth of his fourth child. While he was away, Ward made his MLB debut at first base, pickup up two hits, and Dalton Rushing hit two home runs in the series finale at Coors Field.
Freeman is slashing .296/.360/.519 with three homers and 14 RBI this year. The nine-time All-Star is in his 17th season, amassing 370 homers and 1,336 RBI while sporting a .300 batting average in 2,199 games. The 36-year-old leads all active players with 2,455 hits and is tied with Jimmy Rollins for 115th all-time.
Ward returns to Triple-A after appearing in two games, including starting on Sunday against the Rockies. He recorded his first hit and RBI against Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning. The 28-year-old finished his first Big League stint going 2-for-6 in two games.
With Triple-A Oklahoma City, he is batting .324 with four homers and 14 RBI in 18 games. He was the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player in 2025 after slashing .290/.380/.557 with 36 homers and 122 RBI while leading Minor League Baseball in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits (73) and total bases (315).
Ward was drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round out of Bryant University (Rhode Island) in 2019 and has slashed .266/.344/.505 in seven minor league seasons, with 154 home runs, 139 doubles, and 520 RBI in 696 games.
Dalton Rushing wanted to give start to Ryan Ward
Ward’s promotion to MLB was a long-awaited accomplishment, spending parts of seven seasons in the Minor Leagues.
After his call-up, the Dodgers were originally planning to use Dalton Rushing at first base. However, the 25-year-old volunteered to give his start to Ward so he could get immediate playing time.
“I actually was going to start Dalton, and then I went to Dalton [Saturday] night and I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to go against what we talked about and I’m going to start Ryan, because…’ And Dalton finished my sentence and said, ‘Because he’s earned it,’” manager Dave Roberts explained on SportsNet LA.
“Dalton said he was going to come up to me and say to forgo a start and let Ryan start. That just speaks to Dalton being a teammate and getting it.”
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