The Braves announced a series of non-roster invitees to Major League Spring Training today, with outfielder Rafael Ortega representing a yet-unreported addition to the organization. Other previously reported minor league signings confirmed by the Braves today include outfielder Ryan LaMarre (link), infielder Andres Blanco (link) and infielder Pedro Florimon (link).
Ortega, 27, appeared in 41 games with the Marlins in 2018 and hit .233/.287/.271 with three doubles, a triple and five steals in 143 plate appearances. He’s seen action in parts of three MLB seasons (2012 with the Rockies and 2016 with the Halos serving as the other two) and is a career .236/.291/.286 hitter in 352 Major League trips to the plate. While he spent his time in Miami playing both outfield corners, the bulk of Ortega’s professional experience in the outfield has come in center.
Ortega will give the Braves some left-handed-hitting outfield depth and seems likely to be ticketed for Triple-A Gwinnett early in the year. He’s a lifetime .299/.368/.423 hitter in 1666 Triple-A PAs (spread out over the course of five seasons) and has gone 71-for-93 (76 percent) in stolen-base attempts at that level. His big league experience is obviously limited, but he’s drawn average or better defensive ratings on the whole in 707 innings.
This was reported in November, wasn’t it?
Sometimes you just have to recycle some old news. No big deal…
You can remember all the way back to then? Dang, getting old s$&#@!
I had seen the list that the Braves announced and wondered which ones had already been reported. Searched it on Twitter and there were a bunch from November 20.
I’m guessing it wasn’t official. They were waiting on the Nick Markakis discount deal to be finalized to ensure they had the financial flexibility to make this happen.
Great comment lmao
or-TAY-ga was really fun to watch with the when he was with the Angels he did not have a lot of playing time. when he did play he was productive at the plate and played a good left field. I hope the Braves give him a chance he is a good pick up.
Who cares
Gwenitt Stripers season ticket holders
I think Lamarre is a sneaky decent bench pickup. The rest generally suck
LaMarre was hot for a bit last year, which was intriguing. Blanco wasn’t bad in AAA last year, and Florimon posted some nice numbers in 2017.
AA and the Braves making “ Huge Moves”. Hey I know let’s be on the cusp of winning and not spend a dime on anyone that can make a difference. A worn out catcher, and a has been 3rd baseman who was a way overpay and a replacement level outfielder.
It is infuriating. We heard all season about how much we would have to spend and now all we hear this off-season is how they don’t want to spend it.
Idiot comment of the day!! You won it!!
Well Donaldson was a good move. McCann, not so much. Markakis not bad for the money. But our bullpen is brutal and we aren’t doing a thing about it. Had the money to get two elite arms and a solid 3rd and we have literally watched all the good players get signed away
Explain how Donaldson is a has-been after 1 season where he was injured? Explain how signing a fan favorite in McCann to be a backup is bad? I’ll save you the effort, you can’t because they’re not. The Markakis signing was awful because a better option like Marwin Gonzalez was available for a reasonable deal and there were better trade options.
Uh, I can. Camargo has been more than serviceable at 3rd for the better part of two seasons. Even if Donaldson can stay healthy (and that’s a big “if”), that $23 million could have been spent on a more impactful outfielder whether through free agency or by adding salary via trade. As for McCann, the Braves had the most productive catching corps in all of baseball last year. They probably could have resigned Suzuki before last season ended, but they chose to give Flowers the extension and not really even engage Suzuki as far as any of us know.
After winning the division, people were hoping for a little more than offseason acquisitions of potential and/or upside at a discount and more “we’re still about a year or two away” dialogue. Feels like we’re waiting for the same when it comes to the rotation and the bullpen.
^PurpleSteve understands. Braves fans should get used to this.
Really? Can’t y’all ever stop with the knee jerk, doom & gloom reactions? Here’s an idea i bet ya never thought of, STAY THE COURSE!!!
We will see how Donaldson this season. In reference to McCann, why would you waste the money for nostalgia purposes when that money could be put toward improving pitching. True he is a fan favorite but your telling me Flowers and McCann can catch an entire season??? Doubtful. In reality, they should have pursued Realmuto and signed him to a new contract. However, it appears the Reds are on the cusp of acquiring him. If a car is broken you replace the part. The Braves are content with driving the car as parts fall off. Pitching was the obvious need this offseason, yet they failed to make any moves towards improvement.
Obviously a precursor to a Harper deal.
Or Realmuto…
No chance. The Reds have put Jonathan India on the table. The Braves don’t believe in trading real prospects. That way, they can always say, “We’ve got some guys coming through the pipeline that are still a year or two off.” It’s a magic trick they’ve been pulling going on 6 years now. Problem is, it’s now transformed into an everyday lineup with no glaring holes that just isn’t good enough to do anything more than what they did last year…at best.
As far as I’m concerned, they should be looking to step up at one or two positions and may just have to give up a Top 10 to make it happen. The Reds just got Sonny Gray for their #7 and a draft pick AND they signed him to an club-friendly extension. For the Braves that would have been Drew Waters or Luis Gohara (depending on which list you look at). Both were actually ranked higher than Shed Long in 2018, as far as I can see. If we’re not willing to part with a Luis Gohara equivalent to get a proven, experienced pitcher, no way are we competing for bigger names like Realmuto. Of course, I’m not taking into account that every Minor Leaguer the Braves have is a future Hall of Famer, so there’s that.
The Reds will wind up with another player Braves fans had hopes of getting.
“Not good enough to be better than last year “? Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t they DIVISION CHAMPIONS last year?
That’s my point. You’re kidding yourself if you think that Donaldson is that “one missing piece”. They’re not good enough to take the next step. Repeating what they did last year is far from a foregone conclusion. They could win the division or finish fourth and nobody would be surprised.
Like I said, they’ve managed to assemble an everyday lineup with no holes, yet they still don’t appear to be good enough to do much better than they did last season.
Winning the division and losing in the first round was an amazing step last year and I truly felt good about the season. Now, I (and many others) wish they were just tad more aggressive about getting better.
I like the Andres blanco deal
I don’t think the bullpen will be as bad as some think. We basically added a bat with Donaldson. We got more quality arms that will be coming up during the season. I think this is going to be a great team. We didn’t trade away the future. Stay the course and we’re going to be good for years.
Could still trade for Gregory Polanco. I know he is injured and will not be back until May-June, but his power and outfield arm are stunning. He is locked in for five years at $52.3 (last two are team options with $13AAV, hits left, produces 20/20 each year- could higher, and plays any OF position.