BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Mets relief pitcher Scott Rice, introducing himself at Photo Day last month in Port St. Lucie, is finally on a major league roster after spending 14 seasons in the minor leagues and nearly making the Dodgers last year out of spring training. (
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SARASOTA, Fla. — The bus didn’t leave without Scott Rice this time.
A year ago, the lefty reliever was on the verge of finally getting a major league call up — after 13 seasons in the minors — when the Dodgers informed him on the last day of spring training he wouldn’t be joining them.
“Everyone was loading on the bus to go to San Diego and I was left standing with my bags, so I know the feeling,” Rice said yesterday, a day after the Mets informed him he would be traveling north as part of the team’s Opening Day roster.
It’s an odyssey for Rice that has included six different organizations, in addition to stints playing for the independent Long Island Ducks and Newark Bears. The former first-round draft pick by the Orioles in 1999 was considered a long shot to crack the Mets’ roster when camp began, but supplanted Robert Carson for the bullpen’s second lefty role in the final days of spring training.
The 31-year-old Rice spent last season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque, where he went 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA in 54 appearances, pitching in a league known for offensive explosions.
If there was an overriding factor in the choice of Rice over Carson it was the former’s ability to induce ground balls. Carson’s fate may have been sealed last week when he surrendered consecutive homers to Jason Heyward and Justin Upton in a relief appearance against the Braves.
But Rice remained steady, posting a 2.92 ERA in 11 Grapefruit League appearances with 11 strikeouts and three walks in 12 1/3 innings.
“He showed me the resilience I wanted to see, he showed me that he kept the ball in the ballpark, kept the ball on the ground,” pitching coach Dan Warthen said. “He walked a few guys, but he was able to get a ground ball afterwards. He’s a guy that deserves to be here right now.”
Josh Edgin, who will join Rice as the bullpen’s other lefty to begin the season, was considered a near lock for the job from the start of camp. Rice, Carson, Pedro Feliciano and Aaron Laffey were the other lefties competing for one spot.
Carson was visibly shaken on Friday after receiving the news he would be starting the season in Triple-A Las Vegas, but Rice was among those who tried to comfort him.
“I’ve been in that position in his situation so many times that I know exactly how he feels,” Rice said. “So I just wanted to let him know it [stinks] it had to be between the two of us, but he’s a good pitcher, he’s going to be up here soon.”
Warthen, a lefty who was selected by the Expos in the second round of the 1972 draft and spent 12 seasons in the minors — sandwiched around 83 major league appearances — can certainly appreciate Rice’s persistence.
“You’re related,” Warthen said. “Here’s a kid who has bounced in the minor leagues who is a big prospect and gone through a lot of tough times. And he earned a spot on this baseball team by the way he’s pitched this spring, and it’s a great deal of fun to give that kind of news to a guy like that.”
Rice’s next mission is to make his stay with the Mets a lengthy one.
“I’m still taking it day by day,” Rice said. “I know how quickly it comes and goes, so I’m just trying to enjoy every day.”