The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.

At the beginning of the offseason, there were two bullpen guys that in my mind should have been shoo-ins to be on the 25 man roster next year, Orber Moreno and Blake McGinley. For some God-forsaken reason, these are the two guys that Omar has decided to do without. Look, granted, these guys aren't perfect and they definitely could be replaced, but under what thought process are they worse than Bartolome Fortunado, Tyler Yates, Pedro Feliciano, et al?

Orber Moreno

It wasn't too long ago when Orber was destined to become a future elite closer for the Kansas City Royals. A myriad of injuries, however, have kept him from fullfilling that promise. A while back, after the Royals got tired of waiting for him to recover, the Mets took a flyer on him. Though no longer as hyped, Orber still possessed the attributes one looks for in a good reliever: He throws hard, still strikeouts more than a batter per inning, and he keeps the ball in the park.

After dominating the minor leagues for a year, Orber got his chance with the big league club this year and kept doing the same things he's always done: getting injured and being extremely effective against opposing batters.

1998 33 ip, 0.82 ERA 10/50 bb/so
1998 34 ip, 2.88 ERA 12/40 bb/so
1999 26 ip, 2.10 ERA 4/30 bb/so
2001 21 ip, 4.71 ERA 8/25 bb/so
2003 52 ip, 1.90 ERA 17/58 bb/so
2004 33 ip, 3.37 ERA 11/29 bb/so

Although he's mantained low ERAs, great WHIPs and excellent K/BB numbers, the most important thing Moreno does is keeping the ball in play. In 465 minor league innings, he only allowed 2 HRs. Last year at the major league level, he allowed none and only three extra-base hits. Yes, Moreno, more than likely will keep getting injured, but as long as he keeps getting hitters out, he deserves a spot on the 40 man roster.