WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Before Thaddeus Ward walked into a Major League clubhouse as a big league prospect, he stepped into one for the first time as a batboy in 2004. When a childhood friend asked Ward if he wanted to fill in for a day during Spring Training at City of Palms Park, the Fort Myers native jumped at the opportunity.

“You just walk in the locker room, and you see David Ortiz and [Manny] Ramirez … all those guys in there,” Ward, 26, said. “You're just looking around like, ‘Holy cow.’”

Now Ward has his own locker in the Nationals' clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. He was selected by the Nats with the first overall pick in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft after he was not protected by the Red Sox -- yes, Ward coincidentally went on to be selected by Boston in the fifth round of the '18 MLB Draft -- following a roster crunch.

The Red Sox opted to protect basestealing infielder David Hamilton because of the rule changes this season, after which chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom described leaving Ward unprotected as "probably our toughest decision as we set rosters."

Players in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft can be selected for $100,000, and they must stick on their new team’s Major League active roster or be offered back to their original team for $50,000. This Spring Training, Ward isn’t just pursuing his big league debut; he’s also trying to avoid returning to the Minor Leagues.

“I'm kind of seeing it as, like, an all-or-nothing situation right now,” Ward said. “Because the only choice I have is to try to make this team, and that's kind of how I'm looking at it. I'm trying to make sure I do everything I can to not go back to the Red Sox, to stay here and really be a part of a great organization. They've got a lot of really great guys in the clubhouse. I want to stay a part of this culture as long as I can.”

Ward returned last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2021, posting a combined 0-2 record, a 2.28 ERA and 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 13 starts for the Red Sox's Rookie, Single-A, High-A and Double-A affiliates. He then participated in the Arizona Fall League, going 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA across four appearances (three starts).

The Nationals envision Ward this season as a multiple-inning or multiple-role reliever.

“Here’s a guy, we liked him because he’s a strike thrower and he’s got a really good slider, a good two-seamer,” manager Dave Martinez said. “We want him to pound the strike zone. We talked to him about utilizing his changeup a little bit more. But he needs to be in the strike zone, that’s who he is. We’ll be looking for him throwing strikes, getting early outs, weak contact. So we’ll see how he fares.”

In the past, Spring Training for Ward has been about preparing and making final adjustments for the season. While he isn’t putting extra pressure on himself, this year he sees camp as “‘go time’ from the minute you get in here.”

“In my particular scenario, I'm not trying to polish up tweaks -- I'm trying to showcase my abilities and how I can add value to the team in any kind of role they put me in,” Ward said. “So that's kind of the attitude I'm taking towards it.”

The only souvenir Ward kept from his experience as a batboy is the oversized Red Sox T-shirt he wore that day. Nineteen years later, he is donning a Nationals jersey to take the next step in his Major League pursuit.

“We drafted him because we wanted him,” Martinez said. “That’s kind of how I explained it to him: ‘Look, we wanted you here and you have an opportunity to come here and do some good things. So just relax and have fun and go out there and you be you. Your stuff is good, your stuff plays and you’re going to get better.’”