Ort, 34 in February, pitched for the Red Sox and Astros the past five seasons. He has shown some intriguing things, but without fully exploiting them to good results. He averages in the upper 90s with his four-seater, while also throwing a cutter, slider and changeup.
Through the end of the 2023 season, he had thrown 51 2/3 innings for the Red Sox with a 6.27 earned run average. Boston placed him on waivers in October 2023 and he bounced around the league that winter, going via waivers or cash deals to the Mariners, Marlins, Phillies and Orioles. Baltimore kept him on an optional assignment in early 2024, exhausting Ort’s final option year in the process. They placed him on waivers in May of that year, when the Astros grabbed him.
He had his best run of Major League success with the Astros. After that claim, he gave Houston 22 innings with a 2.55 ERA, a 28% strikeout rate and a 4.3% walk rate. That impressed the Astros so much that Ort kept a roster spot through 2025 despite being out of options, but he couldn’t keep results at that level. Last year he threw 46 innings with an ERA of 4.89. His strikeout rate of 25.3% was still good, but he was dishing out free passes at a 13.9% clip. He was on the injured list for most of September due to right elbow inflammation.
For the Yankees, a waiver claim won’t hurt for now. As mentioned, they had several open roster spots. Ort still doesn’t have enough service time to be eligible for arbitration. They could bring him into camp to compete for a spot in the bullpen.
It’s also possible they put him back on waivers later after they make more moves and fill out the roster. If he were to clear waivers, they could keep him in a non-roster capacity. Ort has no immediate prior career and is shy of three years of service time, meaning he has no right to turn down an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
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