Bryce Montes de Oca

Montes de Oca was born in Lawrence, Kansas, to parents Ivo and Susan.[1] He is of Cuban descent.[2]

Montes de Oca attended Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas.[3][4] He played for the school's baseball team, but required Tommy John surgery in April 2013. He returned in 2014, throwing a 95-mile-per-hour (153 km/h) fastball.[5] USA Today selected him for their All-Kansas high school baseball team.[6] The Chicago White Sox selected Montes de Oca in the 14th round of the 2014 MLB draft.[5][2] He did not sign with the White Sox, and enrolled at the University of Missouri, where he played college baseball for the Missouri Tigers.[7]

Montes de Oca had a second elbow surgery while with Missouri,[8] and pitched 8+1⁄3 in his first two years.[7] He returned from the injury throwing as fast as 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[8] In 2015 and 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[9][10] The Washington Nationals selected him in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB draft,[11] but he did not sign, and returned to Missouri in 2018.[7] On March 2, 2018, Montes de Oca and two relief pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter.[12]

The New York Mets selected him in the ninth round, 260th overall, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[7] He signed with the Mets, beginning his professional career. Montes de Oca underwent multiple surgeries after being drafted, however, and made his professional debut on May 5, 2021, with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones.[13] He finished the year with the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies, posting a 4.50 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 6 saves in 34.0 innings of work across 28 games for both teams. He began the 2022 season with Binghamton before being promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. In 44 combined games, he registered a 3–3 record and 3.33 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 11 saves in 51.1 innings pitched.[14]

On September 3, 2022, Montes de Oca was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[15] He made his MLB debut the same day, striking out one batter and yielding one hit, one walk and no runs pitching 2⁄3 of an inning to finish a 7–1 loss to the Washington Nationals.[16] He finished his rookie campaign with a 10.80 ERA and 6 strikeouts in 3.1 innings across 3 appearances.

On March 28, 2023, it was announced that Montes de Oca would undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove bone fragments from his right elbow, sidelining him for four months.[17] During the surgery, doctors discovered that he needed Tommy John surgery and performed the procedure, ending his 2023 season.[18]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet