Double-A Portland activated Ward (elbow) from its 60-day injured list in advance of his season debut for the affiliate Thursday against Erie, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
Ward made two starts for Portland in 2021 before requiring Tommy John surgery last June and missing the remainder of the season. He was out of action for the first three months of the current campaign before he began a rehab assignment July 1 in the lower rungs of the minors. Over six outings that included stops in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville, Ward covered 18 innings and submitted a 2.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 25:5 K:BB.