With outfielder Eli White done for the season after undergoing Lisfranc surgery, former Washington Huskies star Braiden Ward is in serious consideration to make his MLB debut with the Boston Red Sox in the postseason.
During the 2026 season, Ward stood out for the AAA Worcester Red Sox, where he posted a .251 batting average and .737 OPS while collecting 96 hits, 83 runs, 6 home runs, 33 runs batted in, and a WooSox record 61 stolen bases.
Those numbers got Ward an invitation to Florida at the conclusion of the AAA season, where the Red Sox are keeping a group of players ready in case they're needed for the big-league roster at any point.
Braiden Ward is a real consideration for the Red Sox playoff roster, per @ChrisCotillo. He’d be playing the Quintin
Berry role. 60 stolen bases this season in 106 games. Only caught 9 times. pic.twitter.com/fS9ShJmeRK
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) September 17, 2026
“I think that’d be considered, for sure,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said in a radio appearance on WEEI in Boston. “You have to look as we get closer...another futile exercise because you guys have seen the amount of injuries and different things that can happen. Over the course of the last three weeks, different guys have gone down. It’s really hard to predict what a roster could look like, but you can’t ignore a 60-stolen-base player.”
“How does that fit? What does the rest of the roster look like? Gaming for a pinch-runner is oftentimes like a last resort...ninth-inning, you’re-trailing type of thing. Whoever that extra person on the roster is, you have to consider: Is having another defender better or a right-handed bat? There’s a lot to consider that we haven’t gotten to yet. I know Braiden. I managed him for a while. We’re well aware of what he’s doing with his legs, obviously.”
No matter the size of the moment, Ward said he'll be ready if his number gets called.
“I’d cry, I’d freak out,” Ward told The Worcester Telegram and Gazette’sTommy Cassell. “I was kind of joking with (my) dad about it. In a perfect world, I would like to go up a little bit earlier, just so my first taste of the big leagues isn't Game 3 of the Wild Card in a one-run ballgame in New York City, looking up at the lights and being like, ‘Oh, my gosh, where am I?’ But that's just fun. I know I can handle it, and I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team.”
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Former Washington baseball standout could make MLB debut in playoffs
