The Astros announced they’ve designated reliever Kaleb Ort for assignment. That opened the 40-man roster spot to finalize their three-year free agent deal with Tatsuya Imai.
Ort landed in Houston on a waiver claim from Baltimore early in the 2024 season. He turned in a 2.55 earned run average across 22 games the rest of the way. Ort made a career-high 49 appearances last year but was unable to maintain the numbers he showed in a smaller sample. He allowed 4.89 earned runs per nine across 46 innings.
The righty missed bats at an above-average clip and struck out more than a quarter of opposing hitters. That came alongside a near-14% walk rate, however, well above the 4.3% mark he’d posted in his MLB work a year earlier. Ort also allowed a higher than average home run rate for a third consecutive season. While manager Joe Espada preferred to use him in the middle innings, he was pressed into a few higher-leverage spots when Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa were lost to injury in August. That pushed Bryan Abreu into the closing role and left Ort as one of their more established right-handed setup arms.
It unfortunately didn’t take long before Ort joined his bullpen mates on the injured list. He went down with elbow inflammation at the beginning of September. That knocked him out for the rest of the season. There’s no indication he won’t be ready for Spring Training, but he was already on the roster bubble. Ort is out of minor league options and approaching his 34th birthday.
Houston has Hader, Abreu, Sousa, Steven Okert and Bryan King in the season-opening bullpen, assuming health. Enyel De Los Santos and Nate Pearson are out of options and near-locks to break camp. Pearson signed a $1.35MM free agent deal, while De Los Santos is guaranteed a $1.6MM salary after avoiding arbitration. There wouldn’t have been much flexibility for in-season maneuvering if they also carried Ort. He’ll be traded or placed on waivers within the next five days. Ort has less than three years of MLB service and no prior outright assignments, so the Astros could keep him around as a non-roster invitee if he gets through waivers unclaimed.
Too bad, I like Ort. Hope he finds solid ground wherever he lands
He’s going to be claimed. Oh well, he had good an bad times.
Astros – Of course he will, anyone who throws as hard as him will always have many teams thinking they can “fix” him.
Designated for assignment huh? That Ort to teach him to do better.
Not the best dad joke
It’s nothing out of the ortinary.
He’s a hold your breath type of reliever. He has no business being in high leverage situations but could be a sneaky good pick up in middle relief
I feel like he was pitching injured for more of the season than the Astros admit. That seems to be the case for multiple players on that team, though.
Rudy – I wouldn’t be surprised, he pitched while injured at times with the Red Sox.
So… I’ll always have my story how I saw his first career save with the Red Sox way back when and also him pitch for the Joliet Hammers of the Frontier league… So I got that going for me… Gunga… Gunga gulunga….
He was a bit maddening in Boston, but had a really nice 2024 season in Houston. Last year was a bit of a regression production wise, but I think he’ll be claimed by someone. If nothing else, that level of big league experience is worth something.
Good candidate for the Nats empty bullpen