It was one of four trades that Boston made Tuesday. The Sox also dealt lefty Chris Murphy to the White Sox for minor-league catcher Ronny Hernandez, righty Luis Guerrero to the Rays for infielder Tristan Gray, and minor-league pitcher Alex Hoppe to the Mariners for 22-year-old catching prospect Luke Heyman.

Boston also selected pitching prospects David Sandlin, Shane Drohan and Tyler Uberstine to its 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

Ward, a left-handed hitter who has yet to make his major league debut, has elite speed. He was successful on 57-of-64 stolen base attempts in 97 games for Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque in 2025. He batted .290 with a .395 on-base percentage, .391 slugging percentage, .786 OPS, two home runs, 17 doubles, four triples, 37 RBIs and 74 runs in 368 plate appearances between the two levels. He posted a .331/.440/.466/.906 line in 44 games (163 plate appearances) at Triple-A.

The Rockies drafted him in the 16th round out of the University of Washington in 2021. He has a career .275/.395/.382/.776 line with 211 stolen bases in 414 career minor league games (1,497 plate appearances).

Ward never played above Double-A until this season. In his five minor league seasons, he has started 190 games in center field, 73 games in left field, 18 games in center field, 46 games at second base and two games at third base.

Bernardino posted a 3.14 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 55 outings (51 ⅔ innings) for Boston this season. Opponents have batted just .205 against him, but walks have been an issue (4.5 walks per nine innings).