Verona native Ben Rortvedt appears to have found a permanent home with Tampa Bay Rays
Ben Rortvedt had been subbed out Monday night in Milwaukee before a controversy erupted behind the plate.
The Verona High School alumnus started all three games for the Tampa Bay Rays in their series with the Milwaukee Brewers during the week — his first opportunity to play as a big-leaguer at American Family Field. But in the ninth inning of Tampa Bay's 1-0 win April 29, it was teammate René Pinto who took a backswing from Jake Bauers to the head, creating a dead-ball situation that kept the Brewers from tying the game.
"There are a lot of little intricacies with the position, things you can and can't do," Rortvedt said Wednesday. "That's one I haven't seen before. I've seen backswings a lot, and that is a dead ball, but the occasion where it was game changing … I thought he made the correct call, but obviously there's a lot of things that go into play that point. That's a very tough situation and call to make in that moment. Depends on who you ask, but I think he got that one right."
The 26-year-old has been praised for his handle on the finer points of the position, like pitch framing, and now it appears he has a permanent seat at the MLB table. Traded one day before the start of the 2024 season from the New York Yankees, Rortvedt has an .831 OPS in his first 20 games of the season, a massive uptick from his career MLB numbers to this point in limited opportunity.
He's overcome three knee surgeries and even an aneurysm in his shoulder to get this shot. During the week in Milwaukee, family members flocked to American Family Field, including his mother as she celebrated a birthday Wednesday.
"There are a lot of people I didn't know were coming that I see in the stands; that's been cool," he said.
Injuries have stood in Ben Rortvedt's path to the big leagues
Even before he was taken 56th overall by the Minnesota Twins in the 2016 draft, Rortvedt had already undergone his first knee surgery, then underwent another in 2019. In 2021, he made his big-league debut with the Twins and saw action in 39 games. But three days after the Major League Baseball lockout ended in March 2022, Rortvedt was dealt from Minnesota to the Yankees in a deal that coincidentally brought future Brewers catcher Gary Sánchez to the Twins and sent future Brewers third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Yankees.
Before Rortvedt could even get going with the Yankees, he suffered an oblique injury and, while rehabbing, knee issues cropped back up that led to a third surgery. Needing to fill the catching vacancy left behind, the Yankees signed Jose Trevino, who became an all-star in 2022, while Rortvedt was able to finish the season with 48 games in the minors. Then came the weirdest injury yet.
"Last year going into spring training, my finger was blue and cold, and I was going to a lot of doctors and specialists," Rortvedt said. "We figured out I had an aneurysm in my shoulder and had to get that fixed."
The swelling in a vessel meant more missed time, though he did end up with 32 big-league games in New York. Once spring training closed this March, the Rays and Yankees made a swap to bring Rortvedt south.
"I knew some things were happening behind the scenes so I was prepared for anything," Rortvedt said. "The Yankees is an incredible organization but they kind of had a roster pinch, so I understood the sitaution I was in and really grateful to end up in a place like Tampa, to have a shot and a lot of playing time and help our ballclub win.
"You learn a lot when you fail. I've learned a lot about myself the past three years, what kind of player I want to be, what kind of player I am, and just what to do day in and day out to have success in the field and opportunity."
Rortvedt has been an asset behind the plate ... and on the mound?
Though he wasn't involved in the biggest play of Monday's game, he's had a couple notable moments in his first April with the new team.
— On April 13 in an 11-2 loss to the Giants, Rortvedt was sent to the mound to pitch. He worked around a leadoff double to strand the bases loaded in the eighth but then allowed a home run to Matt Chapman in the ninth before retiring three of the next four batters.
"I hadn't pitched since Little League," Rortvedt said. "(Rays manager Kevin) Cash just asked if I could throw strikes, and I gladly volunteered."
— On April 27, Rortvedt hit what looked like his first home run with the Rays, a go-ahead shot against the White Sox in the eighth, but it turned into a single when it was overturned on replay review. He was stranded, and the White Sox won on an Andrew Benintendi walk-off homer in the 10th.
Rortvedt said the increase in playing time doesn't mean he feels like he's locked up a permanent spot.
"I don't want to feel like I've really arrived or settled in, because at that point, you're complacent," he said. "I think there's a lot of growth (left) in my game … you feel like you don't have to do much."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Verona native Ben Rortvedt appears to have found a home with Tampa Bay
