When the Cleveland Guardians lost to the Seattle Mariners in Cactus League action, Emmanuel Clase made his spring debut.
The All-Star closer surrendered a run on two hits and a walk, striking out two.
The offense couldn’t produce much other than homers by Daniel Schneemann and Johnathan Rodriguez.
However, all eyes were on trade acquisition Luis L. Ortiz.
Ortiz had struggled badly from the mound in his spring debut, conceding six runs in 1.1 innings.
Fans expressed concern about that outing, given how bad he looked.
But against the Mariners, Ortiz’s performance was much more in line with what is expected from him.
“Cleveland Guardians RHP Luis Ortiz allowed one run over three innings of work today striking out a pair of Mariners batters. Line – 3.0(IP) 3H 1R 1ER 0BB 2SO (55 Pitches, 33 Strikes). He topped out at 97.0 mph,” Guardians Prospective wrote on X.
Cleveland #Guardians RHP Luis Ortiz allowed one run over three innings of work today striking out a pair of Mariners batters.
Line – 3.0(IP) 3H 1R 1ER 0BB 2SO
(55 Pitches 33 Strikes)
He topped out at 97.0 mph#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/UNVGhLXdJB
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) March 3, 2025
One run in three innings is much more like it, and is actually very close to the 3.32 ERA he had last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ortiz also is close to where he wants to be velocity-wise, and his command was much better even though it wasn’t perfect.
He has the stuff and the stamina to be a fantastic mid-rotation acquisition for Cleveland.
Perhaps more importantly, he has untapped potential.
Maybe he won’t develop the strikeout rate required to be an ace, but he is a solid arm with youth and energy.
The trade cost Andres Giménez and Nick Sandlin, but bringing in Ortiz might have been a wise move after all.
Of course, the Guardians won’t know for sure until the regular season, not after two spring training outings.
But, at least, he looked much better this time out.
NEXT: Guardians Analyst Reveals Tanner Bibee's Spring Debut Date
