Ward is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.
Following the recent promotion of Lazaro Montes (hip) to the big leagues, Ward appears to have faded into a short-side platoon role. Each of Ward's last four starts have come against left-handed pitching, and the Mariners have kept him on the bench for three consecutive matchups with righties. Since being acquired from the Orioles on Aug. 3, Ward has slashed just .105/.200/.132 with one extra-base hit (a triple) and a 28.2 percent strikeout rate.