As part of a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, the Red Sox acquired three minor leaguers in three separate trades with the White Sox, Rockies, and Mariners.
This article will focus on Boston acquiring 26-year-old infield/outfielder Braiden Ward from Colorado for left-hander Brennan Bernardino.
Ward, who turns 27 in January, spent the first five seasons of his professional career in the Rockies organization after originally being selected in the 16th round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Washington. The California native received a $125,000 signing bonus and made his professional debut in the Arizona Complex League that August.
From there, Ward steadily climbed Colorado’s organizational ladder without ever being viewed as a top prospect. The left-handed hitting speedster opened the 2025 campaign at Double-A Hartford, batting .259/.360/.330 with 10 doubles, one home run, 16 RBIs, 29 runs scored, 22 stolen bases, 19 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 53 games (205 plate appearances) before receiving a promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque in early July. He then slashed .331/.440/.466 with seven doubles, four triples, one home run, 21 RBIs, 45 runs scored, 35 stolen bases, 16 walks, and 23 strikeouts over 44 games (163 plate appearances) in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Altogether, Ward batted .290/.395/.391 with 17 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 37 RBIs, 74 runs scored, an organizational-leading 57 stolen bases, 35 walks, and 61 strikeouts across 97 total games (368 plate appearances) between Double-A and Triple-A this year. That includes a .353/.421/.373 line against lefties and a .277/.390/.395 line against righties.
On the other side of the ball, Ward saw playing time at four different positions between his stops in Hartford and Albuquerque this season. The versatile 5-foot-9, 160-pounder logged 359 2/3 innings in center field, 302 innings in left field, 52 innings at second base, and 22 innings at third base. He also made one start at DH and has prior experience in right field.
Assuming he does not get taken in December’s Rule 5 Draft, Ward figures to provide the Red Sox with important upper-minors depth at Triple-A Worcester to open the 2026 season. It would not be at all surprising if he were called up for his big league debut at some point next year, given his speed and ability to play multiple positions.
(Picture of Brennan Bernardino: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
Blogging the Red Sox 