The Mets brought back and old friend to spring training this season with Rafael Ortega. Ortega made his major league debut with the Rockies back in 2012 and has bounced around different organizations since.
The Mets gave Ortega a pretty significant look back in 2023 when he was 32-years old. Ortega started off his 2023 signed with the Yankees and was released by them at the end of spring training. He then signed a few days later with the Rangers, but never played with them in the majors. The Rangers released him in June and the Mets signed him a couple of weeks later.
The 2023 Mets had a major tear down at the trade deadline which opened up a playing time opportunity for Ortega. Ortega was called up at the start of August and played in 47 games for the Mets, slashing .219/.341/.272 with a 74 OPS+ and a 0.2 bWAR – essentially a replacement level player. At the time, this was exactly what the Mets needed as they were just treading water for the rest of the season.
Ortega went to the White Sox and only got in 14 games in 2024 hitting .071/.176/.071 over 17 plate appearances. Ortega was killing it in the minor leagues though, going .289/.414/.498 over 84 games for the White Sox’s Triple A team.
It makes sense why the Mets took another flier on Ortega. The Mets needed an average player who wouldn’t hurt the team in 2023, and he provided that for two months. Last year he showed in the minors that there is something still there (his .912 OPS was his highest in the minors since 2017).
As of writing the Mets have already cut him from major league camp, which makes sense. The Mets currently have eight outfielders on the 40-man roster, and that doesn’t include Jeff McNeil who can play outfield as well. A lot has to change for the Mets for Ortega to get on the 40-man and to the active roster. If things don’t work out with José Azocar or Alexander Carnario, then Ortega may find a way to some games with the Mets this season.
