For the most part it flew completely under the radar.

Back on January 4, the Dodgers signed 33-year-old veteran free agent outfielder Paulo Orlando to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training camp.

Ironically, in addition to being one of only five Brazilian-born players to ever play in the MLB, the 6′-2″ / 215-pound São Paulo, Brazil native, who arrived at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona on Saturday morning, has something that only one other guy in the Dodgers major league spring training clubhouse has – a World Series ring – which he won while a member of the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals, thereby not only becoming the first Brazilian-born player to ever appear in a World Series, but to win a ring in one.

“I’ve been in the [major] league two years and two tough years because of injury and played in the minor league,” Orlando explained, in his thick but understandable Brazilian accent. “I’m excited for getting the opportunity to be playing for a different organization and thankful for being around and invited for spring training.”

Orlando made his MLB debut with the Royals in 2015, posting a .263 / .289 / .384 / .673 career slash-line over his four seasons (278 total games) with the Royals. During that time he slugged 14 home runs, 44 doubles and 10 triples, while driving in 81 runs.

And then the injury bug bit.

“In 2017, I was playing in the minor leagues in Triple-A and got a foul tip on my shin and got a fracture, so [I] lost like two months, two and a half months of the season,” said Orlando. “Finally, I got called up [to the Royals] in September and finished the year.

“Last year in spring training my knee bothered me a little bit,” he added. ” I tried fighting it about ready to play, but after the season I had to clean it up, my meniscus. Last year was a tough year because I don’t feel like my game like when I did my first two years in the major leagues running-wise, so hopefully I can get it back to feel healthy for this year.”

What was it like for the extremely polite and quiet outfielder signing with the Dodgers this winter?

“It’s like starting over, like showing the team somehow hopefully I feel like probably at least this year hopefully healthy and different from the last two years,” Orlando answered.

Although it is a bit out of character for the Dodgers to go out and sign a 33-year-old veteran outfield when they already have a stable full of young outfielders lying in wait and (probably) already have their Opening Day outfield set with Joc Pederson, A.J. Pollock, and Cody Bellinger in left, center, and right fields respectively, it’s no secret that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman – and even more so Dodgers manager Dave Roberts – are big into that platooning their outfielders based on which arm the opposing pitcher is throwing with. As such, the right-handed-hitting Paulo Orlando could fit right into their game plan over the course of a brutally long 162-game season and (hopefully) a successful postseason.

“I heard he arrived and haven’t had a chance to speak to him,” Roberts said on Saturday morning. “I know there’s something, a little bit with Kansas City, from Brazil, and so there is a little interesting history there. But I’ll get him in front of the guys and we’ll get to know more about him a little later.”

If you missed that other guy in the Dodgers spring training clubhouse with a World Series ring thing, worry not – so did Doc.

“Who is the other one?” asked the Dodgers skipper.

“That would be Joe Kelly,” I said to him, as a sudden and painful realization struck him … just as it did for you, me, and every other Dodger fan on the planet.

Play Ball!

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