LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are chasing history while quietly losing a piece of their future, and the baseball world is still trying to process both developments at once. With the National League West secured for a fifth consecutive season, Los Angeles now stands one championship away from accomplishing what no team has done in a quarter century: winning three straight World Series titles. But even as that pursuit intensifies, the organization is absorbing the loss of Ryan Ward, the reigning Pacific Coast League MVP, who has signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan rather than remain in the Dodgers system.
The timing could not be more striking. Just six days after the Dodgers designated Ward for assignment on September 16, the 27-year-old outfielder finalized a deal to continue his career overseas, effectively ending a seven year run in the only professional organization he had ever known. For a franchise consumed with October aspirations, the departure of a player who dominated at the highest level of the minor leagues has raised uncomfortable questions about how even accomplished prospects can be squeezed out of a roster built around superstars.
Ward’s 2025 season with Oklahoma City was nothing short of spectacular. He belted 36 home runs, drove in 122 runs, and posted a . 290/. 385/. 570 slash line across 143 games, earning Pacific Coast League MVP honors and forcing his way onto the Dodgers’ 40 man roster that November. When he finally received his major league opportunity in April 2026, the power translated immediately: three home runs and four doubles in just 55 at-bats, good for a .
555 slugging percentage. The strikeouts, however, told a different story — 17 of them against only five walks, with a . 218 batting average that gave the front office pause.
The writing appeared on the wall in early September when the Dodgers, needing reinforcements after Shohei Ohtani landed on the injured list, called up Jose Wayde Paula from Double A instead of turning to Ward. That decision signaled a clear shift in the organization’s depth chart. Ward’s follow-up campaign at Oklahoma City — a .
249/. 349/. 430 line in 106 games — represented a significant step back, particularly in a season when home run totals surged across minor league baseball.
While others were elevating their games, Ward’s production was trending in the wrong direction.
What makes the exit particularly painful for fans is the timing. Because Ward was designated for assignment in September, he became ineligible to appear for any other Major League team in the postseason under league rules requiring players to be under contract by September 1. Any MLB club that claimed him would have been acquiring a player who could not help them in October.
Instead, Ward chose Japan, joining a Chunichi Dragons club sitting at 59-77 with only three games remaining on its schedule — a stark contrast to the pennant race he leaves behind.
For a Dodgers organization that has assembled one of the most star-laden rosters in baseball history, Ward’s departure illustrates the harsh arithmetic of building a superteam. With Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Kyle Tucker occupying the outfield and designated hitter spots, and with a farm system producing capable replacements, there was simply no path to consistent at-bats for a player who had done everything asked of him. The Dodgers added Ward to the 40-man roster, gave him a debut, and watched him produce when called upon.
Ultimately, it was not enough.
Meanwhile, the machine rolls on. Ohtani, before his injury, was putting together an MVP-caliber season with 30 home runs, 80 RBIs, a . 380 on-base percentage, and a .
902 OPS. He remains on the injured list with left knee and right biceps issues, but manager Dave Roberts has indicated a return is possible as soon as he serves the minimum required time. Freeman, at 36, continues to be a model of consistency with a .
292 average, 163 hits, and a . 367 on-base percentage. Betts has settled in at shortstop, contributing 22 home runs and 67 RBIs while providing elite defense and baserunning.
Tucker, the offseason’s marquee addition on a four-year, $240 million contract, has yet to fully deliver on expectations but remains a potential difference-maker if he heats up in October. On the mound, Yoshinobu Yamamoto anchors a staff that has battled injuries all season. The Dodgers clinched the division with only four fully stretched-out starters on the active roster, a concern that looms large with playoff baseball approaching.
Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan have provided valuable depth, while Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell represent high-upside arms whose health remains uncertain. The addition of Edwin Diaz gives the bullpen a proven closer for the late innings.
The contrast between these two narratives — a star-studded roster pursuing immortality and a homegrown MVP forced to leave the country for an opportunity — defines this moment for the Dodgers. The talent is undeniably present to make history. But the margin for error is razor-thin, and every roster decision, every injury update, and every gamble carries enormous weight.
Los Angeles has everything it needs to win it all again. The question is whether everyone can stay healthy and locked in when it matters most. For now, the three-peat dream remains alive, even as one of the organization’s most accomplished minor leaguers boards a plane for Japan.
