Last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers DFA’d Jason Heyward – Freddie Freeman’s best friend – who had a .700 OPS. This season, they DFA’d a franchise mainstay in Chris Taylor. What could possibly be standing in the way of them doing the same to an utterly ineffective outfielder on a one-year contract?
This is the question that has Dodgers fans racking their brains in exasperation with every trip Michael Conforto takes to the plate. The veteran outfielder has been a streaky hitter throughout his career, but he has proven to be a downright liability for the Dodgers this year.
Conforto, who signed a one-year, $17 million contract with the Dodgers in free agency over the offseason, is slashing an abysmal .187/.299/.327 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 321 at-bats over 105 games. And yet, for some indiscernible reason, he continues to be a staple in the Dodgers’ lineup. But perhaps even more egregious? The Dodgers have had somebody raking in Triple-A that they’ve continued to ignore.
Dodgers should be forced into roster decision they’ve continued to ignore with Michael Conforto
As LA has navigated many roster issues, they’ve priortized Alex Call, Justin Dean, Alex Freeland and Buddy Kennedy. Only one of those guys (Freeland) had true justification for getting the call to the bigs. Everybody else? Certainly not a better option than Ryan Ward.
Ward, a seemingly forgotten outfield prospect, from Triple-A Oklahoma City, has been swinging a hot bat in his third season at the Triple-A level, slashing .299/.389/.565 with 28 home runs and a whopping 105 RBI in 112 games for Oklahoma City this year.
Ryan Ward finds a gap and pulls the Comets within ☝️! pic.twitter.com/v2MGr90r78
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 15, 2025
The “problem” with Ward is that he isn’t on the 40-man roster.
And to that Dodgers fans say “who cares?”. If you can’t figure out a way to make space and take a chance on somebody who has hit 82 home runs at Triple-A over the past three seasons — even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League — then what are you even doing? The Dodgrs need offensive help.
They need outfield help. And they need another left-handed bat. The roster is currently decimated by injuries and there are plenty expendable options at this very moment.
Conforto is an offensive liability.
The last few offensive options brought up to provide a spark haven’t done that. Ward deserves a shot in the big leagues. The decision practically makes itself – and yet, for some reason, the Dodgers still haven’t made it.
