The Cubs announced that they have claimed left-hander Joseph Ortiz off waivers from the Rangers.
The 24-year-old Ortiz missed much of the 2014 season after he was struck by a motorcycle this offseason in his native Venezuela, as Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News wrote back in January. Ortiz missed upwards of three months this season due to a broken foot suffered in that accident and spent the remainder of the season in the minor leagues. He totaled just 18 innings between the team’s Rookie-league affiliate and Double-A, pitching to a 4.00 ERA with nine strikeouts against two walks.
Ortiz made his big league debut for the Rangers in 2013 at the age of 22 and fared well given his young age. He compiled a 4.23 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 39.5 percent ground-ball rate in 44 2/3 innings out of the team’s bullpen. Ortiz ranked 30th among Rangers prospects heading into that 2013 season, according to Baseball America, who noted that his breaking ball made him a candidate to hold down a spot in a Major League bullpen.
It’s happening.
Nice solid move. Hopefully he can recover from that wrist injury. Those can be tricky.
Mistake on my part that has since been corrected, but Ortiz’s injury was to his left foot, not wrist. Less concerning for his future on the mound, I would think.
He’s also a basketball player and not a baseball player. He’s not 5’7″ but 7’5″. And the Bulls claimed him from the Mav’s. Jeepers.
Veteran offensive player…
TOR pitcher…
Lefty reliever, check.
Next up, Russell Martin.
With all the changes in the Cubs Minor League affiliations this offseason, can we officially name the Texas Rangers as the Cubs AAAA affiliate? Kyle Hendricks, Christian Villanueva, C.J. Edwards, Justin Grimm, Neil Ramirez, Mike Olt, Joseph Ortiz…
Nice sneaky move, Cubs. Ortiz was decent last year and has plenty of upside.