Guardians might've already turned sketchy offseason trade into a runaway win

Last December, the Guardians became the talk of the baseball world when they traded Andrés Giménez to the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade that initially netted them utility infielder Spencer Horwitz. 

And while the Guardians’ trade of Giménez generated plenty of headlines (as it should), it wasn’t the final move that Cleveland made that day, as they quickly flipped Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for starting pitcher Luis Ortiz in a deal that didn’t get as much attention.  

It’s a move that’s looked like a win so far this season for the Guardians.

Guardians might've already turned sketchy offseason trade into a runaway win

Ortiz enters tomorrow’s start with a 4.26 ERA in 69 2/3 innings with the Guardians, and was recently highlighted by ESPN as an under-the-radar trade that’s made a positive impact this year. 

While Ortiz posted a 3.32 ERA in 135 2/3 innings last year with Pittsburgh, he only had a strikeout rate of 19.2% and had some disappointing underlying metrics. And although his ERA is a bit higher this year than it was last year, he’s beginning to put things together for a Guardians pitching staff that’s looked a lot better as the season has gone on. 

Ortiz’s season got off to about as rough of a start as it could’ve when he allowed seven runs on 4 2/3 innings against the Padres in his Guardians’ debut. 

He’s been able to turn things around since then, however. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Twins at the end of April and blanked the Yankees over 5 1/3 innings against the Yankees at the beginning of June. 

Ortiz’s success has come on the back of some revamped usage. He’s on pace for a career-high strikeout rate (25.2%), has added some velocity to his fastball (96.4 miles per hour) and is throwing his changeup more and his sinker less. He’s keeping the ball on the ground more as well, as evidenced by him being in the 76th percentile in ground ball rate.

Ortiz entered the weekend first on the Guardians in strikeouts (76) and second on the team in innings pitched (69 2/3). And that second start is arguably the most important given the state of the Guardians’ rotation. 

Tanner Bibee needed some time to find his groove this year, Ben Lively’s out for the year and Shane Bieber’s return has hit a snag. In short, the Guardians’ rotation has been in flux for most of the year, and Ortiz has been a rock. 

His production also looks better when compared to how Giménez and Horwitz have done. Giménez has only hit .213 this year (and his trade opened up room for Daniel Schneemann to get everyday at-bats ), while Horwitz has hit .210 in 23 games with the Pirates after opening the season on the injured list. 

While there’s a chance that they both end up becoming impact players for their teams, Ortiz has already proven his worth for the Guardians, and won’t be a free agent until 2030. 

The Guardians’ trade for Ortiz may not have been one of the flashiest moves of the MLB offseason, but it’s quickly becoming one of the most important.