Inside The Mets

New York Mets Add Another Reliever on Minor League Deal

The New York Mets continue to add depth to their bullpen by inking another relief pitcher on a minor league deal.

Logan VanDine

Feb 18, 2024; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Oliver Ortega (63) plays catch at spring training. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 18, 2024; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Houston Astros relief pitcher Oliver Ortega (63) plays catch at spring training. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets are continuing to add to their bullpen with this latest addition.

On Sunday, Jon Morosi of MLB.Network reported that New York is signing relief pitcher Oliver Ortega on a minor league deal, which includes an invitation to MLB spring training.

Ortega, 28, was originally signed by the Los Angeles Angels as an international free agent in February 2015 and has pitched in 45 major league games throughout his three-year career with both the Angels and the Minnesota Twins.

The righty has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons, however, appearing in just 10 games for the Twins in 2023 before a left lumbar strain prematurely ended his season.

Ortega was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros in October 2023. But the righty missed the entire 2024 season due to multiple procedures.

Ortega underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow in March before undergoing season-ending surgery to remove a bone spur from the same elbow in June. After Houston removed him from the 40-man roster on November 4 and sent him outright to the Triple-A, Ortega rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Ortega is yet another low-risk, high-reward addition the Mets have made to their bullpen as the team also added relievers Dylan Covey and Justin Hagenman on minor league deals, and claimed Kevin Herget off waivers earlier in the offseason.

Across 58 career innings, Ortega has gone 2-4, with a 4.03 ERA, 51 strikeouts and WHIP of 1.41.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work on Yankees and Mets On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports.

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