With Spring Training starting to dwindle down, teams making roster cuts and Opening Day on the horizon, rosters are starting to take shape.
For the Mets, that mostly holds true as, barring injury, a majority of the Opening Day roster has been decided. However, there are several players who have stuck around MLB camp and are throwing their hat into the ring. One of those being infielder Luis Guillorme who debuted with New York in 2018. The other being southpaw Ryan O’Rourke.
O’Rourke is a lesser known names to most Mets fans. He was picked up in the offseason as a non-roster invitee, and even when he did play in the bigs a few years ago, he wasn’t a household name.
The now 30-year-old hasn’t let that stop him from having a strong Spring and making a play to make the Opening Day roster.
So far this spring, the Merrimack alumnus O’Rourke has logged 6.1 innings, has fanned eight batters and has registered a 2.84 ERA.
The Mets, who in the last couple years have relied heavily on Jerry Blevins as the southpaw in their pen, have a few intriguing options in camp this time around. Justin Wilson is a lock for the bullpen after signing a two-year pact in the offseason, and Luis Avilan, Hector Santiago and Daniel Zamora are all lefties duking it out for a spot on the 25-man.
But don’t count out O’Rourke. His lefty splits in his MLB career are appealing. He has held batters to a .134/.244/.239 over those appearances.
Since he’s on a minors deal, he will likely begin the season in Triple-A, but he has stuck around in MLB camp thus far, and if he keeps up his strong spring and an opening in the pen heading north arises, look for O’Rourke to be a candidate.
Here’s a glimpse at the southpaw from his tenure with Minnesota.
