When a player has spent his entire career with the same organization, it might be unreasonable to expect immediate results when he is traded to a new team.
The Cleveland Guardians acquired starting pitcher Luis L. Ortiz from the Pittsburgh Pirates, hoping he would fill one of their rotation spots after putting up a 3.32 ERA last season.
However, his spring ERA is up to 11.66 after allowing four runs in four innings recently, but the Guardians know it’s all part of a process.
Ortiz knows it too.
After all, it’s spring training and the two parties are still getting to know each other.
Ortiz said he is satisfied with the work he and the team have put in.
“I feel so far, we’ve got good results from working with the staff,” Ortiz told MLB.com. “It’s working really well so far, and it’s really important for us to continue that way. … The key is not only what happens in the game, but what we’ve been doing even between the games and the work that we put in during the week as well. It’s been really productive as well.”
For Ortiz, spring training has been more about getting to work on his game and his pitches in a controlled environment rather than results.
He is also getting himself acquainted with new surroundings, a new housing situation, new teammates, and a forward-thinking organization ready to help him.
“And now, I think we’ve gotten through that period,” Guardians president Chris Antonetti said recently, “and are at a point where we’re actually able to start making some real developmental progress in some of the high leverage things he can be working on.”
In the end, the Guardians love his stuff and believe the results will come if he pitches with confidence.
“When he’s attacking the zone, we see that the stuff plays,” manager Stephen Vogt said.
It might not look pretty now, but Ortiz will ultimately be judged on regular season results rather than spring training stats.
NEXT: Guardians Finally Announce Their Opening Day Starter
