Welland Jackfish general manager Jason McKay rolled the dice when he made the decision to acquire pitcher Teodoro Ortega before the Intercounty Baseball League roster freeze last week.

The Jackfish were looking to add depth to their starting staff and considered reactivating Jake Hartford, who has been inactive all season, but MacKay instead decided to bring in the 24-year-old right-hander from his native Panama.

“It’s definitely a risk; It’s always a crapshoot,” McKay said when asked about adding imports. “We were within a sliver of not going with the unknown in Teodoro and going back to the known and reactivating Jake (Hartford).

“It just didn’t sit right. It felt like doing nothing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Ortega arrived in Welland last Saturday, met his teammates, then threw a bullpen before a game in Kitchener Sunday.

While impressive with his control in the side session, Ortega really turned heads in his Jackfish debut Wednesday in London, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings, permitting only three hits while striking out seven.

“Jason had confidence he was going to be really good and he was right, he was spot on,” Jackfish manager Brian Essery said. “He threw strikes, didn’t walk anybody, attacked hitters. He has good poise on the mound and works quick.”

MaKay loved what he saw from Ortega in game action.

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