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Inside The Dodgers

Dodgers' Freddie Freeman Leaves Team, 28-Year-Old Rookie Promoted

The Dodgers officially announced Ryan Ward's first big league promotion.
J.P. Hoornstra|
A general overall view as Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (left) and second baseman Hyeseong Kim enter the field wearing No. 42 jerseys in honor of Jackie Robinson day against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on April 15.
A general overall view as Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (left) and second baseman Hyeseong Kim enter the field wearing No. 42 jerseys in honor of Jackie Robinson day against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on April 15. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced Ryan Ward's first big league promotion — and it's potentially even bigger news for Freddie Freeman.

Freeman was placed on the paternity list on Sunday, April 19, prior to the Dodgers' game against the Colorado Rockies in Denver. Ward had already joined the team from Triple-A Oklahoma City, but was not active for Saturday's 4-3 loss at Coors Field.

Ward's first game with the Dodgers will mark his major league debut.

Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, announced in February they are expecting their fourth child together.

The Freemans shared the update through a post on Instagram. The announcement did not reveal the gender of the baby nor an expected due date.

Ward, 28, is the No. 19 ranked prospect in the Dodgers farm system, per MLB Pipeline.

Ward was initially drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. He slowly worked his way up the minor league ranks, making it to Triple-A in 2023.

Ward has been in Triple-A every year since 2023, consistently being among the Pacific Coast League leaders in home runs and runs batted in.

Last year, he won the PCL Most Valuable Player award, appearing in 143 games and hitting .290 with 36 home runs, 122 RBIs and an OPS of .937. The Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

In 18 games to start the season with the Dodgers' top farm team, Ward was off to another hot start. He has a .324/.432/.588 slash line, four home runs and 14 RBIs in 68 at-bats.

Ward was a candidate to break camp with the Dodgers until theysigned Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million deal. Until Sunday, there was no place for Ward on the Dodgers' 26-man roster.

“The thing I like about Ryan is he’s performed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in 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.

“For him to not get a shot, I’m sure he’s frustrated and understandably so,” Roberts added. “But the message for him is to keep putting up numbers and knock the door down and hopefully the opportunity comes for him.”

In 12 Cactus League games with the Dodgers, Ward hit .156 (5-for-32) with two doubles.

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J.P. Hoornstra
J.P. HOORNSTRA

J.P. Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.

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