Thaddeus James Ward (born January 16, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. Listed at and , he both throws and bats right-handed.

Career

Amateur career

Ward attended Bishop Verot High School in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

, where he was a member of the school’s baseball and basketball teams and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

. He was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the fifth round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

Boston Red Sox

Ward made his professional debut with the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

during the 2018 season, appearing in 11 games (all starts) with an 0–3 record and 3.77 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 31 innings. He spent 2019 with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

and

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

, pitching to an overall 8–5 record with 2.14 ERA and 157 strikeouts in innings. He was named the Red Sox' minor league pitcher of the year for 2019. After the 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he was invited to participate in the Red Sox' fall instructional league. Following the 2020 season, Ward was ranked by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' as the Red Sox' number 10 prospect. Ward began the 2021 season in Double-A with the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

. He made two starts, striking out 11 batters in eight innings while allowing five runs (5.63 ERA), before undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in early June, ending his season. Ward began the 2022 season on the injured list with Portland. He made 13 appearances on the year with various Red Sox affiliates, accumulating a 2.28 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched. After the season, he was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

Washington Nationals

On December 7, 2022, Ward was selected by the

with the first pick in the 2022

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Ward made the Nationals’ roster out of spring training in 2023. In 26 relief outings during his rookie campaign, he recorded a 6.37 ERA with 30 strikeouts across innings pitched. Ward was optioned to the Triple–A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

to begin the 2024 season. In 28 starts for Rochester, he compiled an 8–6 record and 5.64 ERA with 107 strikeouts across innings pitched.

Baltimore Orioles

On November 4, 2024, Ward was claimed off waivers by the

. On December 6, Ward was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Thaddeus 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Lee County, Florida Bishop Verot High School alumni Florida Complex League Nationals players Florida Complex League Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Harrisburg Senators players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball pitchers Mat-Su Miners players Norfolk Tides players Portland Sea Dogs players Rochester Red Wings players Salem Red Sox players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from Fort Myers, Florida UCF Knights baseball players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Wilmington Blue Rocks players