Traded away, two former Mets find their way with the Rays

New York Times

12 hours ago

When Rays center fielder Jake Mangum and reliever Eric Orze saw that they'd soon be visiting Citi Field to play the Mets, excitement quickly washed over them.
The pair was drafted by the Mets just a year apart and developed together in the minors. Before they could suit up together in the majors, Mangum was traded to the Miami Marlins in December 2022.
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Orze was traded to the Rays two years later, reuniting with Mangum in 2023. Not only are the two back together, but they are also thriving on the field, showing off the potential that the Mets saw in them years ago.
Friday's 7-5 Rays win represented Orze's first career win as he struck out two and allowed one hit in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mangum went 1-4 and brought in two runners in the sixth. His hit started a six-run turnaround for the Rays, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.
Mangum was drafted by the Mets twice. Once during his junior year in 2018 at Mississippi State and again in his senior season. This series has extra meaning for him.
'When you get drafted by the Mets, you always dream about getting to Citi Field,' Mangum said before Friday's game. 'I made my dream [come true] with the Rays, and getting to take the field of Citi Field is another bucket list thing.'
There's no animosity or hard feelings between Mangum and his former club. Coming into this series, he said he wasn't looking at this as a revenge tour.
Maybe that's for good reason. Mangum got his shot to play in the majors with the Rays, and he hasn't squandered the opportunity. He is batting .304, which would be good for 14th in the league if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.
'Just a big thank you to the Rays,' Mangum said pregame. 'I always told everybody that when I was in Triple A, I always said, 'Just give me a shot, and I'll give you all I got.''
Mangum was excited about Orze joining the team in the offseason. The two were already close during their time with the Mets. For Orze, joining a team with a familiar face made all the difference in his transition.
Having been in the Mets organization since he was drafted in the fifth round in 2020, Orze didn't quite know what he was walking into when it came to being in a different clubhouse with a new group of guys.
But between Mangum and others whom he played with in the minors, such as Cole Sulser and Mike Vassil, Orze had a support system in place.
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'It's a cool part about baseball. It's a small community,' Orze said. 'There's a lot of good people over there that helped me throughout my career already up to this point. It's nice to come back and see everybody.'
In 22 games with the Rays, Orze has a 1.32 ERA with 25 strikeouts. He's come a long way from his debut game with the Mets, where he gave up three earned runs without recording an out.
After being down 5-1 in the fifth inning, the two former Mets played key roles in the Rays' comeback effort. The game was everything they expected when they first saw the matchup on the schedule.
'What I expected was a loud, crazy environment, and we got that,' Mangum said. 'To stick it out and win the game was really cool.'
(Top photo of Mangum: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)