This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato¡¯s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

There was a piece of advice Thad Ward had received in his young pro career that resonated loudly Wednesday afternoon. ?
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¡°I had a buddy of mine who went through a couple of trades,¡± Ward explained. ¡°He told me, ¡®You're not playing for one team; you're playing for all 30. Whenever you go out on the field, there's 29 other teams still looking at you.¡¯ So you think about other teams and what could happen in the future, you keep that in the back of your mind.¡±?
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That message was at the forefront of the 25-year-old right-hander¡¯s mind when his name was called as the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings. Ward, a 2018 fifth-round pick by Boston, swapped a ¡°B¡± for a curly ¡°W¡± when the Nationals selected him from the Red Sox Double-A affiliate. Washington held the No. 1 selection after finishing with the worst record in the league this past season. ?
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¡°It¡¯s a bit of mixed emotions because you are with an organization for a long time ¡­ so you actually build relationships and make friends and whatnot,¡± Ward said on a conference call shortly after the Draft. ¡°But it's also very, very exciting because it's a new opportunity with new coaches, new staff, new front office, a lot of people that can really add to who you are and what you can do. It¡¯s a mixture of emotions, but it's mainly excitement.¡±?

With the Rule 5 Draft board wide open, the Nationals selected Ward as a pitcher who can fill multiple needs on the 26-man roster. They will explore utilizing him as a multiple-innings or multiple-role reliever this season. Though a starter in his Minor League career, Ward was a reliever in college. ??
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¡°My only goal is to add value to the team -- that¡¯s it,¡± Ward said. ¡°However I can help the team win, I will do. Obviously, I would like to stay as a starter, but it also doesn't matter that much to me. I just want to go win ballgames.¡±

After not playing in 2020 and undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of ¡®21, Ward made 13 starts across four Minor League levels while going 0-2 with an 2.28 ERA in 51 1/3 frames this past season. Taking pride in ¡°being able to do a little bit of everything,¡± he has a six-pitch mix that includes a four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, slider, changeup and curveball. ?
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¡°When we do these Rule 5 selections, it¡¯s a balance between an upside pitcher that you¡¯re trying to really hit on and surety of being able to keep the player on the roster all season,¡± said general manager Mike Rizzo. ¡°So he blended both of those together for us. ¡­ He throws enough strikes, he¡¯s a savvy enough pitcher and a competitor that he could stay in the big leagues. We believe there¡¯s still some left in the tank in upside where his velocity could get back to pre-Tommy John stature.¡±?
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Ward became available in the Rule 5 Draft when the Red Sox had to make the difficult choice of which prospects to protect, opting for base-stealing infielder David Hamilton because of the incoming rule changes next season. He was ranked as Boston¡¯s No. 15 prospect, and he became Washington¡¯s No. 13. ?
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¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s the first pick or the last pick, it means that he¡¯s not our player anymore, and that¡¯s a bummer because of what he¡¯s been through medically and the upside that he has,¡± said Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. ¡°Hopefully we get him back; we know there¡¯s a chance that we won¡¯t. He was probably our toughest decision as we set rosters.¡±?
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Per the definition of the Rule 5 Draft, ¡°Rule 5 Draft picks are assigned directly to the drafting club's 26-man roster and must be placed on outright waivers in order to be removed from the 26-man roster in the subsequent season. Should the player clear waivers, he must be offered back to his previous team for $50,000 and can be outrighted to the Minors only if his original club does not wish to reacquire him.¡±