When the New York Mets selected 26-year-old right-hander Kyle Dowdy out of the Cleveland Indians organization in this year’s Rule 5 draft, the Escondido, California native’s versatility as a starter or reliever was surely a draw for the Mets, who were mere weeks into their depth-minded offseason.
Now, with under a week to go until Opening Day and the Mets’ bullpen still not having been rounded out yet, Dowdy remains very much on the bubble. After a rough start to his spring (six earned runs allowed, two strikeouts, four walks over his first 4.1 innings pitched), manager Mickey Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland have come with a different approach — and it appears to be working.
Over Dowdy’s last two appearances, he’s pitched three and four-inning stints, respectively, with impressive results. Over those seven frames, he’s allowed one run on six hits while striking out six and walking three.
In Saturday’s win over the Braves in West Palm Beach, Dowdy appeared to know he was pitching for a roster spot and responded accordingly. He worked around a leadoff walk in his first inning of work — the sixth — pitched a perfect seventh, and escaped a runners-on-the-corners, one-out jam in the following inning.
Despite allowing a line-drive homer to Andy Wilkins to begin the ninth, Dowdy finished up strong, setting down the next three Braves in order to close out his afternoon on a positive note.
Earlier in the week, Callaway shared his thoughts on where the 26-year-old stands with camp winding down and his future with the Mets still in doubt, via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.
“We love the stuff, we love the kid and what he’s about and how he goes about his business. We’ll have to see what happens here in the next few days,” Callaway said. “I hope he’s still in the organization when the time comes, but that’s not always the case in this situation.”
What Callaway’s referring to is the stipulation that’s attached to a Rule 5 pick, which deems a player must be offered back to his previous team if he does not remain on the active 25-man roster for the duration of the season.
With a mostly revamped bullpen that includes mainstays Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman, as well as newcomers (and an old friend) Edwin Diaz, Justin Wilson, and Jeurys Familia. there aren’t many available spots for the taking. Left-hander Hector Santiago has already been informed he won’t break camp with the team, leaving the door open for southpaw Luis Avilan to likely nab a spot.
Minor leaguers Tyler Bashlor, Daniel Zamora, Drew Gagnon, Paul Sewald, Walker Lockett, and Tim Peterson are all waiting in the wings for their respective opportunities, so there are plenty of other, viable options.
If Kyle Dowdy’s late charge after a sub-par showing this spring is enough to garner him a few weeks of major-league action to give the Mets a better idea of what they have in the 26-year-old, great. But if they’re forced to cut ties with the young right-hander, he wouldn’t exactly be missed.
