Steven Okert #48

Graduated in 2009 from Rowlette HS in Rowlette, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas...Went undrafted out of high school and went on to attend Grayson Community College in nearby Denison, Texas...Pitched two seasons (2010-11) at Grayson and was drafted twice, but did not sign...Drafted by Milwaukee on both occasions, in the 43rd round of the 2010 draft and then again in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft...Transferred to the University of Oklahoma for his junior season (2012)…Went 9-8 with a 3.07 ERA in 85.0 innings with the Sooners that year...Selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the June 2012 draft and began his professional career...Made headlines in 2024 after riding the Nationals bullpen cart to the mound prior to his appearance in May...For his services, Okert notably tipped his driver $5 for the ride...Okert was a frequent rider of the cart during his time in the NL East division as a member of the Marlins from 2021-23...He had no intentions of ever riding the cart, but an early-season trip to Washington and a freezing day changed his mind...Upon leaving the bullpen, Okert saw the waiting cart and jumped in...He had a strong appearance that game and has continued the tradition since...Signed with the Astros this offseason as a Minor League free agent with an invite to Major League Spring Training...Officially signed on Nov. 5, 2024.

2024

Pitched in his first season with the Twins after being acquired via trade with Miami on Feb. 11, in exchange for utility player Nick Gordon...Was in the Twins bullpen from Opening Day through Aug. 24 as a middle reliever and lefty specialist...Held left-handed hitters to a .193 batting average with a .564 OPS with Minnesota and right-handers to a .317 average with a .984 OPS...Recorded his first career save in his fourth appearance of the season on April 10 vs. LAD, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a Twins 3-2 victory...Got the opportunity after Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax pitched the seventh and eighth, and Jhoan Duran began the season on IL...Allowed just four hits to left-handed batters (36 lefties faced) in first 21 appearances from March 30-June 5; posted .118 BAA to lefties in that span...Was the opener on July 24 vs. PHI (in front of bulk pitcher David Festa), pitching 0.1 innings in a Twins 5-4 victory...Marked the third start of his career...Allowed just three home runs in first 35 games (29.0 IP) from March 30-July 24, but allowed three in final nine appearances (6.1 IP) from July 27-Aug. 23...Designated for assignment on Aug. 24...Cleared waivers and accepted assignment to Triple-A St. Paul...Pitched in seven games for St. Paul to finish season, from Aug. 31-Sept. 21.

2023

Pitched in third season with Miami...Missed 19 games to begin the season with a left adductor strain before returning from 15-day injured list on April 21...In season debut on April 22 at Cleveland, pitched 1.0 inning, allowing zero runs with one walk...Made his first career start on July 16 at Baltimore, recording one out, allowing three runs on 18 pitches...Had a career-high 10.0-inning scoreless streak (12 games) from May 2-24 before allowing one run on May 27 at Los Angeles-AL...During stretch, held opponents to a .094 (3-for-32) batting average with three walks and 16 strikeouts...Struck out a career-high 73 batters (previous high: 63 - 2022)...Went 1-1 at loanDepot Park with a 5.53 ERA (17 ER, 27.2 IP in 31 games, compared to 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA (12 ER, 31.0 IP) in 33 road games...Held left-handed batters to a .241 (20-for-83) batting average with a .720 OPS while right-handed batters hit .222 (30-for-135) with a .747 OPS...Was one of four left-handed relievers on the Marlins with 70+ strikeouts (others, Andrew Nardi, A.J. Puk, Tanner Scott)...Marked first time in franchise history that two or more left-handed relievers finished with 70+ strikeouts in a season...Recorded at least one strikeout in 48 of 64 appearances...Had 18 multi-strikeout appearances...Recorded 12 holds in 62 relief appearances, ranked fourth in Marlins bullpen...Ranked in the 89th percentile in baseball in strikeout percentage (29.6%)...Ranked second on the Marlins staff in appearances (64), while also ranking eighth among all National League lefties in the same category...Made an appearance in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series vs. Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park, allowing one run on two hits in 1.0 inning.

2022

Made a career-high 60 appearances for Miami in 2022...His five wins, 2.98 ERA, and 1.169 WHIP all led the Marlins bullpen...Set career highs in innings pitched (51.1) and strikeouts (63)…Inherited 19 runners, the most among Marlins’ relievers, with only five inherited runners scored...Led Marlins bullpen with 19 holds and the lowest average against (.186), ranking 10th among NL relievers in BAA and seventh among lefty NL relievers in ERA (min. 40.0 IP)…Recorded at least one strikeout in 18 consecutive appearances (May 18 to June 22); tied for fourth-longest such streak by a reliever in 2022...Held right-handed hitters to a .152 (17-for-112) batting avg., allowing 18 walks and striking out 36. Lefties batted .239 (17-for-71) against with eight walks and 27 strikeouts...In his season debut April 9 at San Francisco, faced four batters and struck out all of them in order. 

2021

Went 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA for Miami in 2021. Worked 36.0 innings and struck out 40 batters. Allowed just 22 hits but walked 15... Joined the big league club on June 29, went 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 15 games (20.0 IP) for the Jumbo Shrimp. Collected four saves in four opportunities... Made his season debut on April 11 at New York Mets. Pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings... Worked 9.0 consecutive scoreless innings from Aug. 9-Sept.10

2017

Was recalled from triple-A Sacramento to the big leagues on four different occasions and went 1-1 with a 5.67 ERA (17er, 27.0ip) in 44 relief appearances...His 11 holds ranked second on the club behind Hunter Strickland (21)...Earned his first career big league win on May 3 at Los Angeles-NL (1.2ip)...Went 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA (9er, 25.1ip) and six saves in 24 games with Sacramento.

2016

Made three stints with the Giants and posted a 3.21 ERA (5er, 14.0ip) over 16 outings. Made his Major League debut on April 19 vs. Arizona and tossed 2.0-scoreless innings, allowing one hit with two strikeouts. Struck out 14 batters in 14.0 innings of work for San Francisco, while holding opponents scoreless in 13 of his 16 appearances. Went 4-3 with a 3.80 ERA (20er, 47.1ip) and 60 Ks in 41 games for triple-A Sacramento.

2015

Spent all of the 2015 season pitching out of the Sacramento River Cats' bullpen, fashioning a 3.82 ERA witih 69 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched over 52 appearances...held left-handed batters to a .228 average against....Was added to the Giants' 40-man roster on November 20, 2015.

2014

Posted the best season of his professional career, being named an Organizational All-Star by MILB.com. Combined for 57 games with Class A Advanced San Jose and double-A Richmond, going 2-2 with a 2.11 ERA and 24 saves. His 24 saves led the entire Giants' organization, more than even Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo. Began the year with San Jose and racked up 19 saves with a 1.53 ERA (6er, 35.1ip) and 54 strikeouts. Was named to the California League mid-season All-Star team and earned the save with a scoreless 9th inning. Was promoted to double-A Richmond on June 24 and went 1-0 with a 2.73 ERA (10er, 33.0ip) and five saves in 24 games. Posted a 0.75 ERA (1er, 12.0ip) with 17 Ks and a save in 10 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. Was selected to the AFL All-Prospect Team and was named a Rising Star in the Arizona Fall League.