| Bryce Montes de Oca | |
| Team: | New York Mets |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutyear: | 2022 |
| Debutdate: | September 3 |
| Debutteam: | New York Mets |
| Birth Date: | 23 April 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Lawrence, Kansas, U.S. |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2022 season |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 0–0 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 10.80 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 6 |
| Teams: |
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Bryce Montes de Oca (born April 23, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Mets organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2022.
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 95mph fastball. USA Today selected him for their All-Kansas high school baseball team.[5] The Chicago White Sox selected Montes de Oca in the 14th round of the 2014 MLB draft.[6] He did not sign with the White Sox, and enrolled at the University of Missouri, where he played college baseball for the Missouri Tigers.
Montes de Oca had a second elbow surgery while with Missouri,[7] and pitched in his first two years. He returned from the injury throwing as fast as .[7] In 2015 and 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[8] [9] The Washington Nationals selected him in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB draft,[10] but he did not sign, and returned to Missouri in 2018.On March 2, 2018, Montes de Oca and two relief pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter.[11]
The New York Mets selected him in the ninth round, 260th overall, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[12] 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 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] Following the season on November 2, Montes de Oca was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Syracuse.[19]