AL West club claims former Red Sox reliever Kaleb Ort off waivers
The Mariners have claimed right-handed reliever Kaleb Ort off waivers from the Red Sox.
Boston placed Ort on waivers on Wednesday opening up a 40-man roster spot.
Ort was on the Red Sox 60-day IL dealing with right elbow inflammation. The righty made 47 appearances with Boston during his three years with the organization.
The 31-year-old will get a fresh start with the Mariners next season. Ort possesses an intriguing fastball velocity (95.8 mph average this past season). He also offers slider and a new cutter which he developed while with the WooSox this year.
While working in bullpen sessions with former WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott, Ort moved to the first base side of the pitching rubber and worked on his new cutter.
“Ort moved over on the rubber, we have him over on the first base side now,” said Abbott to Beyond the Monster back in May. “We’re going to explore the benefits of throwing a cutter. It will go along with his slider and his fastball. It’s something for lefties to get into their hands. It’ll give him another weapon,” added Abbott.
The Red Sox will need to make additional decisions on players residing on the 60-day injured list. Anyone on the 60-day IL needs to be activated at the end of the postseason and counts against the 40-man max.
Boston will have some key minor leaguers they’ll need to protect on the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft. Shane Drohan, Ryan Fernandez, Wikelman Gonzaelz and Nick Sogard are all names to watch this winter as options for the 40-man roster.
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