Boston Red Sox
“Every time he gets on, he’s not afraid.”
Braiden Ward has swiped 60 bases this season with Worcester. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
September 16, 2026
2 minutes to read
Chad Tracy and the Red Sox still have plenty of work to do when it comes to clinching a playoff berth in the coming days.
After that, it’s about formulating the best postseason roster to overcome a seemingly inevitable best-of-three series in the Bronx.
One priority for Boston? Adding speed to the roster once the calendar flips to the postseason, especially with Eli White likely sidelined for the start of the playoffs due to a ligament injury in his foot.
With runs at a premium in October, teams often tend to put an emphasis on adding players in the playoffs who can swipe a base or two at a crucial time — as evidenced by Dave Roberts in 2004 and Quintin Berry in 2013 with Boston.
As such, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy acknowledged on WEEI’s “Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson” that he might consider calling up Worcester Red Sox outfielder Braiden Ward for the postseason roster — in what would be his first games in the big leagues.
It might be an unorthodox move when it comes to throwing a career minor-leaguer directly into the fire of playoff baseball, but Ward’s skillset is evident.
The 27-year-old Ward has been a monster on the basepaths down in Triple-A — stealing 60 bases in 106 games for the Woo Sox while only getting caught nine times.
Ward has been a sparkplug since arriving in the Red Sox organization as part of a November trade with the Rockies — with the speedster setting a Grapefruit League record during spring training after stealing 19 bases in just 27 games.
Speaking ahead of Boston’s game against the Rangers, Tracy added that Ward is the type of player who could serve a critical role come October.
“It’s just hard to say, other than to say he has stolen 60 bases,” Tracy told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “It’s very obvious you have a guy down there that has a really good ability to run and steal bases. We’ll see [when] we get at the end of the season and how all that fits.”
Even though Ward’s bat may not stand out (.243 batting average), the Red Sox would likely only utilize him for late-game situations on the basepaths.
During that 2004 run to a World Series, Roberts appeared in three games for Boston but did not record a single plate appearance.
“Every time he gets on, he’s not afraid,” Tracy added of Ward while speaking to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. “That’s the thing. He gets on base, he’s looking to go. That’s a unique trait. There’s a lot of guys that can run and steal bases, and then there’s other guys that every single time I get on, almost regardless of the time of the pitcher, I feel like I can outrun the ball.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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