White Sox Outright Rafael Ortega

Outfielder Rafael Ortega cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times on X. The outfielder was designated for assignment by the White Sox earlier this week. He had the right to elect free agency but has chosen to accept his outright assignment.

Ortega, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason and was added to their roster in late April. He was put into 14 games but mostly off the bench, getting just 17 plate appearances. He hit .071/.176/.071 in those and was designated for assignment when the club acquired Corey Julks from the Astros a couple of days ago.

It’s been a rough few years for Ortega after a strong 2021 campaign that now looks like it may have been his peak. He hit 11 home runs in 330 plate appearances for the Cubs that year. His .291/.360/.463 batting line translated to a 122 wRC+. He also stole 12 bases and spent a lot of time covering center field.

But his production dipped to .241/.331/.358 in 2022 and he was non-tendered at the end of that season. He eventually got back to the majors late in 2023, getting called up by the Mets after the trade deadline to play out the final months of a lost season for that club. He hit just .219/.341/.272 in that time and was sent back to the open market at season’s end.

Ortega will now head to Charlotte and try to get back into good form. It’s not hard to imagine a path opening up that would allow him to get back to the big leagues. The rebuilding Sox will likely make any veteran player available this year and have already traded Robbie Grossman to the Rangers. 36-year-old Tommy Pham is on a one-year deal and will almost certainly be moved if he’s healthy and playing well. Gavin Sheets and Eloy Jiménez are also trade possibilities who could, along with Pham, open up playing time in the outfield/designated hitter mix. For now, the Sox will keep running out those guys and Andrew Benintendi, as well as younger players like Julks and Dominic Fletcher.