The Boston Red Sox might keep Braiden Ward on the roster for the American League Wild Card Series.
That’s the latest reporting from Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox beat reporter for MassLive:
Hearing Braiden Ward still in play for the WC roster but no final decisions made on who’s in, who’s out.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) September 28, 2026
As of Monday at 12 noon, though, the roster hasn’t been finalized yet.
When it is, if Ward is on it, a lot of Red Sox fans are going to be wondering why Boston is keeping a guy around who has yet to make his MLB debut.
It actually would make some sense, though, so let’s break it down.
Who is Braiden Ward?
Ward is a 27-year old outfielder and second baseman originally from the state of California who is now in the Boston Red Sox minor league system.
He was a 16th-round pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Washington.
Ward has yet to play a single pitch in the major leagues.
Why Would Red Sox Keep Braiden Ward For Wild Card Series?
The answer is simple: speed.
Ward has game-changing, series-changing, playoff-changing speed.
He stole 61 bases this season in 109 games at Triple-A Worcester. He was caught nine times.
Ward has stolen 272 bases in 523 career minor league games while only being caught 39 times.
The Red Sox didn’t have Ward in their organization until this season, but they saw an opportunity to snag a player with one particularly special skill.
Ward had an OK hitting season for Worcester, batting .251 with a .738 OPS that included 19 doubles, five triples and six home runs.
But if the Red Sox keep him around, it’d be unlikely that he’d hit. They’d simply use him to run.
It’d be a role much like the one that the late Terrence Gore once held for the Kansas City Royals in the mid-’10s.
Red Sox fans know the importance of a stolen base. Dave Roberts once proved that very well.
Wild Card Series Helps Roster Choice
The best-of-three Wild Card Series also helps in making the potential choice to have Ward on the roster.
A short series like that doesn’t call for a team to keep as many starting pitchers around. At most, it seems, you’d keep four — with one ticketed for the bullpen unless disaster strikes.
That means there can be more bench space for a luxury player like Ward. He might not work if more pitching is called for, but the shortened series helps justify such a move.
The Red Sox haven’t officially made the move yet, but the fact that there’s this noise surrounding the possibility at this point sure makes it seem like Ward has a good chance to be on the Boston Wild Card roster to try and change games with his speed.
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