Pirates All 40: Role Didn’t Matter for Luis Ortiz

This is one in a series of stories breaking down members of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.

Back in spring training, Luis Ortiz was one of a handful of pitchers hoping to secure a starting rotation spot on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster.

Things didn’t go the way Ortiz had envisioned, however. The final two spots in the starting rotation went to rookie Jared Jones after a sensational spring showing and left-hander Bailey Falter.

Though he wasn’t part of the Pirates’ initial starting rotation, Ortiz was still included on the Pirates’ roster for the season opener against the Marlins in Miami as part of the bullpen.

Ortiz could have easily been discouraged after starting the season as a full-time reliever for the first time in his professional career, but the right-handed thrived coming out of the bullpen.

In his first 20 relief appearances through June 14, Ortiz went 3-2 with a sharp 2.51 ERA and collected his first-career save on June 1 in Toronto after covering the final three innings in a Pittsburgh Pirates’ 8-1 win.

Exactly one week after one of his best appearances of the season, Ortiz was tagged for six runs on 10 hits — two of which were home runs — in four innings against the Rays at PNC Park on June 21. The rough outing inflated Ortiz’s ERA by nearly a full point to 3.45.

But soon after Ortiz’s worst outing of the year, the Pirates had to use Ortiz as a starting pitcher for the first time in 2024, a role in which the right-hander would remain for much of the rest of the season.

Ortiz’s first start of the season against the Reds at Great American Ballpark was brilliant and served as a sign of things to come. In six innings, he only allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

The 25-year-old ended up making 15 starts for the Pirates this past season, sixth-most on the team. As a starter, Ortiz went 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA while holding opponents to a .201 batting average and a .641 OPS.

Outside of rookie sensation Paul Skenes, the case could be made the Ortiz was the Pirates’ most valuable  pitcher as his 3.22 season ERA trailed only Skenes (1.96) and Colin Holderman (3.16).

Heading into 2025, it remains to be seen whether or not Ortiz will be used as a starting pitcher, a reliever, ore more of a hybrid role. As things stand, the Pirates have Skenes, Falter, Jones, Mitch Keller and Johan Oviedo as starting pitching options with significant MLB experience.

But no matter what role he’s in, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton could once again have a nice luxury in Ortiz and his ability to handle different situations on the mound.