The Pirates traded Ortiz, along with Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy, to the Guardians on Tuesday in exchange for Spencer Horwitz, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
Ortiz took a massive leap in 2024, posting a 3.32 ERA and 1.11 WHIP alongside a 107:42 K:BB in 135.2 innings. The Pirates used him as both a starter and reliever last year, though Shane Bieber's (elbow) injury and a general lack of starter depth could prompt Cleveland to keep Ortiz in its rotation full time.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Goes seven strong in win
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Ortiz (7-6) earned the win against the Brewers on Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings.
Ortiz allowed a solo home run to Jake Bauers in the second inning but rebounded with five scoreless frames to end his 2024 campaign with a victory. Over his final 10 outings, the 25-year-old compiled four quality starts while yielding two earned runs or fewer five times. He'll finish the season with a solid 3.32 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 107:42 K:BB over a career-high 135.2 innings as both a starter and reliever.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Fans seven in quality start
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Ortiz allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over six innings in a no-decision against St. Louis on Thursday.
Ortiz held the Cardinals scoreless over the first three innings before St. Louis put up a run in the fourth and another in the sixth. The right-hander notched his sixth quality start of the campaign, which is more impressive when considering that only 14 of his 36 appearances have come as a starter. Ortiz also tied his season high with seven punchouts Thursday, a mark he's now achieved three times.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Falls to Kansas City
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Ortiz (6-6) took the loss Friday against the Royals, allowing seven runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out five.
Ortiz and the Pirates fell into a deep hole early after Kansas City put up a six spot in the second inning. The 25-year-old Ortiz has now allowed 11 runs (seven earned) across 9.2 innings in his last two starts. His ERA sits at 3.45 on the year with a 1.13 WHIP and 95:39 K:BB across 122.2 innings. He'll look to right the ship in his next outing, currently scheduled for next week on the road in St. Louis.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Struggles against Nationals
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Ortiz (6-5) took the loss in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against Washington, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out two batters over 5.2 innings.
Ortiz was originally scheduled to start Friday, but his outing was pushed back a day due to a weather-related postponement. The right-hander wasn't at his sharpest against Washington, as only 58 of his 100 pitches were strikes and he departed with two outs in the sixth inning trailing 4-0. Ortiz fell one out shy of recording his third straight quality start, however. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively slated to be at home against Kansas City.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Nationals-Pirates postponed
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Ortiz will not start Friday against the Nationals as the game has been postponed due to inclement weather.
Friday's contest will be made up Saturday as part of a doubleheader, and Ortiz will start in the matinee, per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. The right-hander has appeared in 33 games games this season, including 11 starts, and has a 3.19 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 113 innings.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: No run support in loss
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Ortiz (5-3) took the loss Tuesday against the Padres, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings.
Tuesday marked Ortiz's first loss in eight starts this year and it was his first loss since May 8. The Padres tacked on an unearned run against him in the first due to a fielding error by Oneil Cruz. Ortiz went on to face one over the minimum through the next three innings before David Peralta led off the fifth with a solo home run to right center field. Ortiz has now given up one run or zero in four of his last seven starts and owns a 3.32 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 71:30 K:BB in 95 innings this season. Oritz lines up to face the Rangers on the road next week.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Starting Sunday
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Ortiz will start Sunday's game against the Mets, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
After being deployed as a starter or bulk reliever for most of June, Ortiz had made a two-inning relief appearance in most recent outing Tuesday versus the Cardinals. Given that the 25-year-old covered a season-high six innings in his prior appearance June 26, he should be able to handle a typical starter's workload as he steps back into the rotation Sunday. Through 55 innings on the season, Ortiz owns a 3.27 ERA and a 47:18 K:BB.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Works in relief Tuesday
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Ortiz struck out four and allowed one run on three hits and no walks over two innings out of the bullpen in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Cardinals.
Ortiz had covered six innings while striking out seven batters -- both season highs -- while serving as a starter in his previous appearance June 26 in Cincinnati, but the Pirates seem to have moved him back to the bullpen following Martin Perez's return from the injured list. The Pirates have since placed another starter in Jared Jones (lat) on the IL, but Quinn Priester (lat) could be on track to return from the IL to fill Jones' open rotation spot, which next comes up Sunday versus the Mets. Ortiz would be a candidate to start Sunday if the Pirates insead elect to have Priester make another rehab start in the minors before coming off the IL.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Ties career high in Ks
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Ortiz (4-2) picked up the win in Wednesday's 6-1 victory over the Reds, allowing one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
The seven Ks tied the right-hander's career high, set back in September 2022 in his third career MLB start. Ortiz was making his first start of 2024 after spending the first part of the season in a long relief role, and he generated an impressive 19 swinging strikes among his season-high 85 pitches. Martin Perez (groin) is expected to come off the IL this weekend, but Ortiz made a solid case to return to the rotation later in the campaign should a spot open up. Through 53 innings this year, he sports a 3.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Earns win in bulk role
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Ortiz (3-2) picked up the win Friday against the Rockies, yielding one run on seven hits and no walks over five innings. He struck out three.
After Carmen Mlodzinski tossed a scoreless opening frame, Ortiz entered in the second as the bulk reliever for a scheduled bullpen day. The Pittsburgh righty held his own at Coors Field in his longest outing of the season, firing 69 pitches en route to his first win since May 5, which also came against Colorado. Ortiz has been a dependable option in the Pirates bullpen, throwing 43 innings with a 2.51 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 33:17 K:BB.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Poor outing in loss
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Ortiz (1-1) allowed three earned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out none across 1.2 innings to take the loss Tuesday against the Mets.
Ortiz entered the game in the sixth inning, immediately following Jared Jones while being tasked with protecting a one-run lead. He retired the first four batters he faced but then ran into trouble by allowing three consecutive hitters to reach base. Ortiz was then let down by Jose Hernandez, who allowed two inherited runners to score. Ortiz has been used in multi-inning relief after losing out on a rotation spot in spring training, and he's posted a subpar 5:6 K:BB in his first 9.1 innings of work.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Opening in bullpen
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Ortiz will begin the season as a long reliever in the bullpen, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
The 25-year-old made a solid case for a rotation spot during spring training with a 3.46 ERA, and 15:7 K:BB across 13 innings, but Bailey Falter and Jared Jones will begin the campaign as Pittsburgh's Nos. 4 and 5 starters. Ortiz should remain stretched out and should see some action as a bulk reliever, especially as a right-handed complement to lefties like Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Another turn in rotation
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Ortiz will start Saturday's game against the Yankees, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Ortiz is set to take his third turn through the Pittsburgh rotation, and he's allowed three earned runs across 11.1 innings in his last two starts. He's only posted a 4:5 K:BB in that same span, a far less impressive mark. More positively, Ortiz should be able to handle a typical starter's workload.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Limits damage against Atlanta
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Ortiz allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks while striking out none across 5.1 innings Sunday against Atlanta. He did not factor into the decision.
Ortiz limited the damage against one of the tougher lineups in the league and held Atlanta without any extra-base hits. While his ability to suppress runs is positive, Ortiz lacked the ability to miss bats and racked up only five swinging strikes across 73 total pitches. That contrast has been present since he was promoted back to the majors Aug. 23, as he's maintained a respectable 4.12 ERA but has only a 14:12 K:BB across 19.2 frames.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Nabs win Monday
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Ortiz (4-4) earned the win over Milwaukee on Monday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four batters over six innings.
Ortiz worked as the Pirates' primary pitcher in relief in his last outing before returning to a traditional starter role Monday. The right-hander fell behind 2-0 in the second inning but didn't allow any other runs and moved into position for the win when Pittsburgh tallied four runs over the fifth and sixth frames. Ortiz ended up tossing 84 pitches over six innings, marking the third time he's pitched at least that many frames in an outing this season. The 24-year-old has posted a mediocre 4.90 ERA and 1.74 WHIP over 68 innings on the campaign, but he's yielded just three runs over 11 frames during his past two appearances, which should be enough to help him continue to hold down a spot in the rotation.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Starting for Pirates on Monday
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Ortiz will start for the Pirates on Monday versus the Brewers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Things had seemed to be pointing in Ortiz's direction, but the Pirates declined naming a starter until releasing their lineup. Ortiz's last appearance was in bulk relief and he has posted a 5.08 ERA and 44:33 K:BB over 62 innings this season covering 11 starts and two relief appearances.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Impresses in long relief
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Ortiz (3-4) earned the win Tuesday against Kansas City. He allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings.
Ortiz followed opener Colin Selby on Tuesday, dealing five innings of one-run baseball to pick up his first win since June 23. After giving up four or more runs in each of his last three appearances, the 24-year-old bounced back Tuesday and yielded just three hits on the day. Though Ortiz doesn't hold a permanent spot in the Pirates' rotation, he'll likely stick around for more work at least until Max Kranick (elbow) is ready to go.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Staying in rotation this week
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General manager Ben Cherington confirmed that Ortiz will receive another start with the Pirates either Tuesday or Wednesday in Kansas City, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The Pirates are condensing their rotation from six men to five this week, and Ortiz will end up sticking around over Osvaldo Bido, who was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday. Ortiz likely doesn't have a long leash in the Pittsburgh rotation, however, as he was roughed up for five earned runs on seven hits and five walks over 3.1 innings this past Wednesday against St. Louis in what marked his first outing with the Pirates since July 4. Through 12 outings (11 starts) with the big club this season, Ortiz owns a 5.37 ERA and 1.84 WHIP.
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Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Flounders in return to rotation
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Ortiz (2-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on seven hits and five walks over 3.1 innings against the Cardinals. He struck out five.
Ortiz struggled tremendously in his return to the Pirates' rotation, allowing back-to-back singles, followed by back-to-back walks in the first inning, which led to three runs coming across for St. Louis. Despite getting the leadoff man to go down on strikes in three of the four innings in which he appeared, the right-hander would still be tagged for five runs on the afternoon before being relieved by Yohan Ramirez. Ortiz has now allowed at least four runs in each of his last three starts for Pittsburgh, lasting fewer than five frames on each occasion.
