Not sure there is anything close to that sentiment about Ortiz. Most observers think he'll be fine in the outfield. He has decent speed now and a very good arm. He probably is better than Cozens out there for instance. All star defense - no. But a 30-year-old Cecil Fielder was already slow and heavy. Fielder's minor league high in SB was 3. He stole 9 bases in his entire 17-year career. Ortiz has stolen 13 in 94 career games. He is probably a good bet to be in the 15-20 SB range in full seasons.
The quote from the recent BA chat on Ortiz: "So when you're projecting a 16-year-old kid and where he's going to play in the future, body type plays a significant role. Ortiz is always going to just be a big human being, but to his credit, he's maintained his body well enough to this point where he can play the outfield and surprise people with his mobility, and his arm is a real weapon out there. I do think there's still significant risk that he goes to first base at some point, but there's no reason at this point to move him off the outfield just yet."
Nobody is saying he is Roman Quinn or Nick Williams out there. But he is an athletic big guy who started to take care of his body after he was signed and seems to be fine in the outfield for maybe the next decade.
Big, big difference compared to your statement. Is he a 5-tool athletic player? No. But could he project to offense like Aaron Judge or Cody Bellinger or Giancarlo Stanton? Yes. That is what his ceiling is which is pretty darn high.