Kaleb Ort

Kaleb James Ort

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 240 lb.
• School Aquinas College
• High School Lowell (MI) High School
• Debut September 13, 2021

• Born February 5, 1992 in Grand Rapids, MI USA

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Biographical Information

Kaleb Ort was originally signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks as an free agent on September 23, 2016, after having pitched that season for the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League. However, he was released during spring training the following year and returned to Joliet, but appeared in just one game before the New York Yankees gave him a look. His first assignment in the affiliated minor leagues was with the Pulaski Yankees of the Appalachian League in 2017.

After not pitching anywhere in 2020 because the minors were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, he was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule V Draft. The Red Sox must have been scouting the Yankees' farmhands closely in 2019, as they had earlier picked another pitcher from the Yankees, Garrett Whitlock, in the major league phase of the draft, and he would turn out to be a key member of their 2021 bullpen. For his part, Kaleb had risen quickly in the Yankees' system, making it to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders for 24 games in 2019, and he spent most of 2021 with the Worcester Red Sox in Triple-A East, going 1-3, 3.12 in 40 games in relief, with 18 saves. He was one of a number of players called to the big league club in early September when the Red Sox were hit by an outbreak of COVID-19, and he made his debut on September 13th, pitching a third of an inning in relief against the Seattle Mariners, and giving up a hit and a walk in his only appearance.

He started off 2022 in the minors, but when called up to Boston pitched well his first few times, with an ERA of 3.86 after 5 outings. However, he ran into a buzzsaw facing the Toronto Blue Jays on July 22nd, as he gave up 8 runs in just two-thirds of an inning in a 28-5 loss. His ERA climbed all the way to 16.88 after that nightmarish outing.

Related Sites

• Kaleb Ort on mlb.com