Vitals: 24 years old (turns 25 on October 27); 6-foot-6, 220 pounds; both hits and throws right-handed; selected by the Mets in the second round of the Rule V draft in December.

Performance: The Mets originally drafted Beato, a Brooklyn product, in the 17th round out of high school in 2005, but were unable to sign him. The right-handed pitcher wound up being the 32nd overall pick in the draft by the Orioles the following year after a season at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Junior College. Last season was Beato’s first as a reliever, after he had mixed success as a starter in previous years. He was very good for Double-A Bowie, though, going 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 43 appearances (60 innings pitched), striking out 50 and walking 19.

Outlook: If the Mets want to keep Beato, they’re going to have to keep him on the major league roster all season long. Normally, this would be a real long shot, as teams tend to just take fliers on guys to see how they look for a couple weeks in the spring before sending them back to their original team (like the Yankees did with outfielder Jamie Hoffmann last year). But the Mets’ financial difficulties have meant they are coming into spring training with several job openings in the bullpen, and if Beato pitches well this spring, he could head north with the team as a very cheap arm out of the bullpen.

tbontemps@nypost.com