Twins Claim RHP Oliver Ortega Off Waivers from Angels

[Danchat]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Hendricks pitched three seasons for the Twins. Their foolishness stemmed from not trying him in the pen before cutting him loose. Looks like the Twins did start that with Enlow last year, but he was still in AA ball, and not doing well.

I'm not terribly worried about him becoming great. I'll also be a dissenter in saying that I think the odds of him getting claimed are less than 50%. The bloom has been off of his rose since 2019.

I don't think the FO has ever DFA'd a guy and he turned into something... sure, I reacted poorly when we DFA'd Travis Blankenhorn and Edwar Colina, but I trust the FO knows what they're doing when it comes to that.

[HerbieFan]

Yawn

[DocBauer]

Not a big guy, but good velocity, solid K numbers, and finding better control of his curve...change in grip or whatever...he might be interesting. But the peripherals are just not good.

Not excited about this at all.

But it's keeping Enlow on the 40 man initially and cutting him that confuses me. He's still young and there should be some optimism in regard to velocity and control his 2nd year post surgery. So why risk loosing him at this point?  Something just doesn't feel right.

Would have made more sense to me to spend some of the $ they have available on Fulmer instead of a flier like this.

[Beast]

Now they’ll ride or die with him in the 8th inning through 15 blown saves in the first month because they love some obscure metric that their broken AI spit out at them.

”Yeah, he’s given 35 up HRs in 10 innings against the Royals and Tigers, but he’s one of the best in the league with the distance between his index and ring finger at the release point of his knuckle curve.  Just you wait until mid-August when he’s been relegated to only pitching the 6th inning of games that are already statistically over. 

Then, a handful of disgruntled fans will ridicule them here.  Then a mob of “ball guys” will tell them they don’t get it.  The team would suck so much worse somehow if they would’ve spent $5M more dollars.  Falcey and Lavine are next level genius and just strategizing for 2038 when our 1/2 season window opens.  The Pohlads actually love spending money because they signed Josh Donaldson for the current cost of a high-end equipment manager….etc., etc.

I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog’s day.

[KirbyHawk75]

Hate this.  Another mediocre reliever replacing someone with potential.  

[PatPfund]

Giant yawn. The only way either pitcher pitches serious innings for the Twins in 2023 is if the pitching staff is riddled by injury, or the last place team features them post-mid-season fire sale. Or both.

Is it wrong that I'm feeling misty for last year's lock-out? When at least there was an excuse for doing nothing, because nobody could do anything?

[Shaitan]

This FO (who I don't mind, unlike most posters here), seems to think they can fix control problems. Lots of AAAA relievers picked up and later let go with similar issues.

Speaking of...are the Twins sticking with Wes Johnson's replacement permanently?

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, DocBauer said:

But it's keeping Enlow on the 40 man initially and cutting him that confuses me.

Exactly my thought. Why have Enlow on the 40 man for the ENTIRE 2022 season and cut him now. That makes no sense. Nothing has changed since August really. Now, as some have speculated, if this means Correa and a trade in the next 7 days, everything may make a lot more sense. Pagan still being on the team is my big issue.

[D.C Twins]

Wow... amazing... wait a minute.... oh yeah... completely irrelevant to improving the team like the rest of the Twins off season so far....

[h2oface]

6 hours ago, Danchat said:

I don't think the FO has ever DFA'd a guy and he turned into something... sure, I reacted poorly when we DFA'd Travis Blankenhorn and Edwar Colina, but I trust the FO knows what they're doing when it comes to that.

Sometimes a trade is like a DFA , like Nick Anderson to Miami for 3B Brian Schales (who?, that's the point), and it is hard to know in the transactions I find if there was a DFA and the trade was during the 10 days, so the transaction becomes and trade and the DFA is not mentioned (or maybe I just don't know where to find the more complete data in looking back.) Anyway, Nick Anderson turned into something,...... whether it was a DFA or a forced trade for anyone wandering around the Miami farm for 4 years at all because they would have DFA'd him.

Enlow sure got a lot of hope for potential for many years. So much print to kiss him goodbye. 

[Penthang]

I was initially surprised when I heard they had picked up a very mediocre reliever and Enlow was the 40 man victim. I understand he struggled after returning from surgery last year but that’s not terribly uncommon. I have to believe that either they know something that’s not obvious to us or that they plan to make him part of a trade package in the next few days. 

[Whitey333]

You mentioned the Twins must see something in Ortega.  Sure they do.  Another cheap reclamation project this Team insists on.  They have spent so much time on Correa it's ridiculous.  I hope the Twins don't sign him.  

[jorgenswest]

I would really be surprised in Ortega is on the 40 at the start of spring training. It is quite common to sign a player and then try to pass him through waivers.

The Twins know that they will be adding players and need Enlow’s spot. Why not make this move now? They have a chance that Enlow passes through waivers. Later this winter when they need that spot they will have a chance that Ortega passes through waivers. 

[rv78]

"The numbers haven't been too impressive up to this point, but the Twins obviously see something they like."

The problem is that they see numbers that aren't impressive and that IS what they like, otherwise they wouldn't go after players like this. Another ho-hum average type player that doesn't move the needle, that they think they can make into something special which will make them look like geniuses. Why should fans expect anything else? When you consistantly take other teams cast-offs and expect them to all of the sudden become integral pieces to your team it is only one thing, hope and a prayer, and we all know how that works. I swear this FO loves mediocrity. If they would take all of the money they throw at crap players and combine it into one contract for 1 really good player that would help them actually win games they'd have something, but they seriously don't get it.

[Major League Ready]

11 hours ago, Beast said:

Now they’ll ride or die with him in the 8th inning through 15 blown saves in the first month because they love some obscure metric that their broken AI spit out at them.

”Yeah, he’s given 35 up HRs in 10 innings against the Royals and Tigers, but he’s one of the best in the league with the distance between his index and ring finger at the release point of his knuckle curve.  Just you wait until mid-August when he’s been relegated to only pitching the 6th inning of games that are already statistically over. 

Then, a handful of disgruntled fans will ridicule them here.  Then a mob of “ball guys” will tell them they don’t get it.  The team would suck so much worse somehow if they would’ve spent $5M more dollars.  Falcey and Lavine are next level genius and just strategizing for 2038 when our 1/2 season window opens.  The Pohlads actually love spending money because they signed Josh Donaldson for the current cost of a high-end equipment manager….etc., etc.

I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog’s day.

He has 2 Milb options.  What makes you think he will be on the 26-man roster unless he is performing well at AAA?

[Aerodeliria]

19 hours ago, Danchat said:

For me the real story is Enlow, they must be pretty low on him to DFA him now, as I have to think with his pedigree he gets claimed. I would have liked to see him as a full time reliever and see if he could make it to the bigs by the end of the year. Another pitching prospect goes down the drain…

Ortega’s profile reminds me of Megill, high fastball speeds but too hittable. That BB/9 is not going to fly here.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Megill can touch 100 mph as well, but if the Angels are letting Oliver loose, it makes me worry that his fastball is Megill-like.

[jorgenswest]

13 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Would have made more sense to me to spend some of the $ they have available on Fulmer instead of a flier like this.

Fulmer may be the move. This isn’t about Enlow vs Ortega. It is about using that 40 man spot for a player like Fulmer. Making this move gives the Twins two chances to pass a player through waivers instead of one.

[USAFChief]

18 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

 Making this move gives the Twins two chances to pass a player through waivers instead of one.

Huh??

 

 

[hitterscount]

I really know nothing about Ortega but this seems like another power move by the FO. If this guy is a quality reliever I find it hard to believe he would have sat on the waiver wire since December 22nd. It's been my observation that relievers with ERA,s around 4.00 are not very reliable. Don't think we get much better with this signing. 

[Otaknam]

Disappointed about Enlow, as he was a top prospect derailed by TJ. I do understand why they would take a chance on Ortega, given that he has some experience in the big leagues, but I’m not too fond of a guy with lack of command. How many of those guys can you have in one bull pen, where every batter is a nail biter, which is what Pagan does.

[jorgenswest]

23 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Huh??

Let’s suppose they sign someone like Fulmer and need a spot on the 40. They DFA Enlow. Enlow has a chance to passed through waivers.

If they know they will be filling Enlow’s spot on the 40 they can DFA him now when acquiring Ortega. Now when they sign someone like Fulmer they can DFA Ortega. He has a chance to make it through waivers also.

I don’t think Ortega will be on the 40 to start the season. Enlow wouldn’t be either. The Twins will acquire a veteran for that spot on the 40 and both Enlow and Ortega will have had chances to pass though waivers from that spot.

[darin617]

20 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

If I'm a terrible team, I 100% take a chance on Enlow on the 40 man. Why not? 

If a team has an open spot on 40 man just claim and and DFA the player yourself and see if anyone claims him.

[Mike Sixel]

22 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Exactly my thought. Why have Enlow on the 40 man for the ENTIRE 2022 season and cut him now. That makes no sense. Nothing has changed since August really. Now, as some have speculated, if this means Correa and a trade in the next 7 days, everything may make a lot more sense. Pagan still being on the team is my big issue.

They have an entire year of data they didn't have. They have other players. I agree on pagan. Three years of outcomes should be plenty of data.

[Fatbat]

On 1/6/2023 at 3:22 PM, ashbury said:

I don't understand the sequence of events. Ortega was DFA by the Angels on December 22. That was more than 2 weeks ago. I thought DFA lasted for 10 days, sometime within which 3-day waivers must be started and completed, unless the intention is to simply release him or make some other move. How is it that the Twins claimed him now?

You need to account for holidays. MLB shuts down so its not calendar days.

[Fatbat]

I’m betting that Enlow gets picked up and DFA’d multiple times over the next 2 years. He eventually will find a home and be solid pitcher.  In the mean time, the twins need to bring in some legitimate big league talent to be competitive this year. If by chance he clears waivers, we can stash him for a year and watch his development and make a better decision on him in 10 months. 

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, Fatbat said:

You need to account for holidays. MLB shuts down so its not calendar days.

That must have been it. None of the online sources I saw mentioned anything in terms of business days, but what else could it be.

[ashbury]

Ortega is designated for assignment today. What was your favorite Oliver Ortega moment?

[Dman]

On 1/10/2023 at 1:09 PM, ashbury said:

Ortega is designated for assignment today. What was your favorite Oliver Ortega moment?

I guess the FO knows what they are doing as they got Ortega, Enlow and Garlick through waivers.  Nice to have all three off of the 40 man and if performing well enough available if injuries strike.  I thought Enlow was gone for sure but I guess other teams saw what I saw.... a lot of hard hit balls.  Hopefully things look better in year two after TJ.