2) Luis Ortiz
One team that certainly has pitching to spare is the Pittsburgh Pirates. They had a pitcher breakout during 2024, and with their wealth of rotation depth, along with the need for a bat, they might be willing to move Luis Ortiz this off-season. Ortiz started the year as a long-relief man in the Pirates’ bullpen but moved to the rotation during the second half of the year.
Ortiz pitched a total of 135.2 innings across 37 total appearances and 15 starts. The right-hander worked to a 3.32 ERA, 4.25 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP. Although he had a sub-20% K%, Ortiz cut his walk rate down from 12% in 2023 to just 7.6% this year. The right-hander also limited home runs to an above-average rate with a 1.06 HR/9 rate.
Ortiz saw a large uptick in Stuff+, going from 99 to 104 between 2023 and 2024. He incorporated a lower arm angle, along with a cutter, into his pitch arsenal. Ortiz executed much better as well, as his Location+ rating went from a meager 95 in 2023 all the way up to 100 this past season.
Ortiz has the most control left of anyone we will talk about today. He does not hit arbitration until after the 2026 campaign. The right-handed hurler is still young; next year will only be his age-26 season. Plus, he entered 2023 as a top 100 prospect by Baseball America. The Mets should capitalize on a player trending in the right direction.