Dodgers Could Make Surprise Decision for Starting Outfielder Next Year, Says Insider

Oklahoma City's Ryan Ward (10) throws to first for an out during the minor league baseball between the Oklahoma City Comets and the Tacoma Rainers a the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, April, 16, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a hole in their outfield following Michael Conforto's exit into free agency, and will look to solve that issue during the offseason.

All-Star names like Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger have been thrown around for months, but The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya believes the Dodgers could take a different route towards fixing their outfield.

The Dodgers added left fielder Ryan Ward to their 40-man roster following the end of the 2025 season, and he could find himself with the team on Opening day following his huge year at Triple-A.

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"They could also just run back what they did with their outfield last winter, seeking a stopgap option or turning to even some internal choices, according to multiple people familiar with the team’s thinking," Ardaya wrote. "Among the options: Ryan Ward, who the Dodgers surprisingly added to their 40-man roster last week after a torrid offensive season at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

"...With Ward now on the 40-man roster, at least one potential configuration could be a platoon with a left-handed hitting Ward and the right-handed hitting Alex Call, who the Dodgers acquired at the trade deadline and is entering his first year of arbitration. Call logged just 15 plate appearances during the Dodgers’ World Series run and just 85 plate appearances after the trade during the regular season."

Ward received All-Star honors in the Pacific Coast League this past season, and also won the league's MVP. The slugger played 143 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2025, posting a monstrous .937 OPS with 36 home runs and 122 RBIs. He isn't just a big bat, as Ward also hit for average extremely well in 2025 with a mark of .290.

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These kinds of numbers aren't anything new for Ward, though, as he also hit 33 home runs and drove in 101 RBIs during his time in Triple-A in 2024. Despite his tremendous production over the past couple of years, Ward is yet to make an appearance at the MLB level.

The Dodgers have plenty of work to do in the offseason, most importantly with their bullpen, so taking a chance on Ward while reinforcing their pitching could be a route they pursue if they don't want to spend hundreds of millions on players like Tucker or Bellinger.

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