The Red Sox are considering carrying outfielder Braiden Ward on their playoff roster, writes Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Interim manager Chad Tracy, who briefly managed Ward in the minors, publicly addressed the possibility on Wednesday.

“I think that’d be considered for sure. … It’s really hard to predict what a roster could look like, but you definitely can’t ignore a 60 stolen base player,” Tracy replied to WEEI when asked about Ward coming up for the postseason. “How does that fit? What does the rest of the roster look like? Gaming for a pinch-runner, often times it’s a last resort, ninth inning and you’re trailing kind of thing. Is having a defender better, another right-handed bat? There’s a lot to consider that we haven’t gotten to yet.”

Ward stole two more bases with Triple-A Worcester tonight to get to the 60-steal mark. The 27-year-old outfielder has been caught nine times. Ward first emerged on the radar during Spring Training, when he went 19-22 in stolen base tries to easily lead exhibition play in both successful steals and attempts.

A 16th-round pick by the Rockies in the 2021 draft, Ward has stolen 50+ bags in four minor league seasons. This is his first season reaching 60 steals. The Red Sox acquired him last winter in a trade sending lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino to Colorado. Ward has minimal power and accordingly has never really been a prospect. He’s hitting .238/.356/.355 with five homers across 437 plate appearances for Triple-A Worcester this year.

Brendan Gawlowski and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gave Ward an honorable mention in their writeup of the Sox’s system back in May. They wrote that he’s among the fastest players in the minor leagues and suggested he could carve out a similar designated pinch-runner career as the late Terrance Gore played for multiple teams.

Boston is all but officially locked into the #5 seed in the American League. They’ll play a three-game Wild Card Series and seem on a collision course for a rematch with the Yankees, who bounced them in the first round last year. (Dave Roberts famously played the pinch-runner role and stole a pivotal base against New York in the 2004 ALCS.) Teams can carry up to 13 pitchers in each playoff round, but it’s common for them to only roster 12 in the abbreviated first round. That allows for a 14th position player who can play this kind of specialized role off the bench.

Tim Healey of The Boston Globe notes that deadline acquisition Eli White had been the frontrunner for that role. He went on the injured list last week with ligament damage in his right foot. White seems unlikely to be ready for the start of the postseason and is a question mark for all of October.

Ward is not on the 40-man roster. He would remain eligible for postseason play, as teams can — and annually do — petition the league for the inclusion of players who were added to the 40-man in September. (Ward would technically be an injury replacement for White.) Players only need to be in the organization by September 1 to qualify.

If the Sox do call upon Ward, it’s unlikely to be before the end of the regular season. “It’s very obvious that you have a guy down there that has a really good capability to run and steal bases,” Tracy told Healey. “So we’ll see where we get at the end of the season and how all that fits.” Six players, including Chase DeLauter last year, have made their first MLB appearance in a postseason game.