Kaleb Ort

Ort grew up in Lowell, Michigan, and played college baseball at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan; however he was not selected in the MLB draft.[1]

On October 7, 2015, Ort signed with the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League.[2] In his first professional season, he appeared in 20 games, starting 12, and posted a 3-4 record and 6.05 ERA with 61 strikeouts in as many innings pitched.

On September 23, 2016, Ort signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[3] However, he did not make an appearance for the organization before he was released on March 21, 2017.[4] After returning to Joliet, he made one appearance for the team in 2017, tossing two scoreless innings and striking out three.[3]

On May 16, 2017, Ort signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees organization. He spent the remainder of the season split between the rookie-level Pulaski Yankees and the Low-A Staten Island Yankees, accumulating a 3-0 record and 1.38 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 10 saves in 26.0 innings pitched. In 2018, Ort made 35 appearances between the High-A Tampa Tarpons and Double-A Trenton Thunder, working to a combined 2-2 record and 3.74 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 3 saves in 55.1 innings pitched.

Ort played the 2019 season with Staten Island, Trenton, and the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, pitching to a 6-0 record and 3.40 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 4 saves in 50.1 innings of work. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

On December 10, 2020, Ort was selected by the Boston Red Sox during the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft.[3] Ort opened the 2021 season in Triple-A with the Worcester Red Sox.[3] On September 10, the Red Sox added Ort to their active roster.[6] He made his major-league debut on September 13; pitching in relief against the Seattle Mariners, he allowed one hit and no runs in 1⁄3 of an inning.[7] Ort was returned to Worcester, and removed from the 40-man roster, on September 14.[8] In 42 relief appearances with Worcester, Ort recorded 19 saves with a 2.98 earned run average (ERA) while striking out 62 batters in 45+1⁄3 innings pitched.[9]

Ort returned to Worcester to begin the 2022 season, pitching out of the bullpen as a closer.[9] He was added to Boston's active roster on July 9,[10] and made his first MLB appearance of the season the next day.[11] He split time between Worcester and Boston during August,[12] and spent almost all of September with Boston.[13] In 25 relief appearances with Boston, Ort pitched to a 1–2 record with one save and a 6.35 ERA while striking out 27 batters in 28+1⁄3 innings.[14] On September 29, 2022, Ort recorded his first ever MLB save by pitching a scoreless 9th inning against the Baltimore Orioles. [15]