The Mets have released right-hander Connor Overton, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The righty was not on the 40-man roster, having signed a minor league deal with the club back in February.
Overton, 32, pitched in the majors from 2021 to 2023. Suiting up for the Blue Jays, Pirates and Reds over those three seasons, he tossed 59 1/3 innings over ten starts and eight relief appearances, allowing 4.85 earned runs per nine. He struck out 15.7% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 9.5% pace.
He required Tommy John surgery in May of 2023. He spent the rest of that season on the Reds’ injured list and was outrighted at season’s end. He re-signed with Cincinnati on a minor league deal going into 2024. He was back for official game action by May but never got fully stretched out. He made 17 appearances on the farm last year, including seven starts, but never went longer than three innings. He clearly struggled, with a combined 7.85 ERA in his 36 2/3 innings across multiple levels.
As mentioned, the Mets brought him aboard on a minor league deal, perhaps hoping that being further removed from his surgery would allow him to post better numbers. He tossed 5 1/3 innings in Grapefruit League action, allowing two earned runs, striking out three and walking one. That evidently wasn’t enough to keep him in the system.
Perhaps some club looking for extra non-roster depth will give Overton a call. As mentioned, he has some passable MLB work on his track record. He also posted a 2.21 ERA in 85 1/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022. He struck out 24.2% of batters in that time with a 4.7% walk rate. He then got hurt and was ineffective when he returned last year, but perhaps he can get back on track this year.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
