Daniel Ortiz (born January 5, 1990) is a Puerto Rican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Career

Minnesota Twins

Ortiz was drafted in the fourth round (126th overall) by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

out of Benjamin Harrison High School in

Cayey, Puerto Rico Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sa ...

. After signing for $253,000, Ortiz reported to the

GCL Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...

where batted .274 with two home runs and 27 runs batted in over 48 games. Daniel was forced to miss the 2009 season after undergoing left knee surgery during the offseason. Ortiz did little to change that perception over the next two years, hitting .259 with 11 homers and 43 runs batted in over 62 games with the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

in 2010 and .239 with 10 homers and 71 runs batted in the following year with the Low-A

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

. For the 2012 season, Ortiz began the year back with the Snappers but quickly proved that he was a changed player, hitting .299 with 8 runs and 13 runs batted in through only 22 games and earning himself a spot on the midseason

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

all-star team. Ortiz started the month of May with the High-A

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

. Over the rest of the season, Ortiz continued to hit for both average and power, finishing with a .269 batting average, eight home runs and 35 runs batted in. Ortiz was promoted again to begin the 2013 year, playing for the Double-A

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...

. Ortiz hit a career high 12 home runs to go along with a .258 batting average and 60 runs batted in. In 2014 Ortiz remained with the Rock Cats for 48 games, and he owned a .500 slugging percentage, a .325 batting average, and 31 runs batted in before an early June call up to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. In 55 games since his promotion, Ortiz hit 7 home runs, drove in 29 runs, recorded a slugging percentage of .456, and owned a .257 batting average.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Ortiz signed a minor league contract with the

on November 20, 2015. He spent the 2016 season in Triple-A with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, batting .236/.275/.415 with 15 home runs and 61 RBI in 110 games. The Pirates promoted him to the major leagues on April 29, 2017. Ortiz appeared in 9 games for Pirates in 2017, notching 1 hit in 12-bats. On August 5, 2017, Ortiz was designated for assignment by the Pirates and sent him outright to Indianapolis on August 7. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Philadelphia Phillies

Ortiz signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on January 3, 2018, with an invitation to spring training. He was assigned to AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

for the 2018 season, after which he became a free agent.

Pericos de Puebla

On February 21, 2019, Ortiz signed with the

of the

. In 2019, he was a mid-season All-Star. Ortiz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the LMB season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Danny 1990 births Living people Beloit Snappers players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Elizabethton Twins players Indianapolis Indians players Indios de Mayagüez players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Mexican League baseball right fielders New Britain Rock Cats players Sportspeople from Caguas, Puerto Rico Pericos de Puebla players Pittsburgh Pirates players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Rochester Red Wings players Tigres de Aragua players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Sultanes de Monterrey players