Are the NY Mets repeating a familiar mistake with Jose Butto?

Jose Butto was never an exciting New York Mets prospect. He had some good numbers in the minor leagues, however, some struggles in 2023 at the Triple-A level made it look like he was moving away from ever being a relevant member of the franchise. Look at him now. A much better year with Syracuse in 2024 helped land Butto a few more starts with the Mets this past year. More memorable were all of the times he entered as a reliever.

Butto’s season was right up there with David Peterson and Mark Vientos as a sudden breakout campaign few would have predicted. As strong as his 8 starts in 2023 were, there didn’t seem to be any indication he’d start much at all in 2024 other than as a depth piece. His success as a starter and the club’s needs in the bullpen led to him sticking around at the MLB level.

Butto was 1-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 38 innings as a starter. In relief, he tossed 36 innings with a 6-0 record and 2.00 ERA. Strikeout and walk numbers were nearly identical. The slash line numbers were drastically different either. It ended with opponents slashing .171/.301/.295 against him as a starter and .162/.270.256 in relief. A mostly even result wasn’t enough for the Mets to be convinced they should move forward with him as a planned starter for 2025.

The situation with Jose Butto feels like Seth Lugo all over again for the Mets

Seth Lugo always wanted more opportunities to start with the Mets. Just like Butto, he became a reliever out of necessity and the team having too many other starters on the roster. He departed in free agency after the 2023 season only to turn in two consecutive marvelous years. This past year was especially noteworthy with Lugo winning Cy Young runner-up honors as a member of the Kansas City Royals. He tossed over 200 innings and faced a league-high 836 batters.

Durability hasn’t been a problem for Lugo who had more than a couple Mets managers, coaches, and front office folks doubting he could be a stud starter. Invaluable to the Mets in the relief role that first began as a multi-inning weapon, the same situation seems to be coming true with Butto.

The Mets roster has been loaded up with starting pitching depth already this offseason. Many believe they’ll land at least one more bigger object for the rotation before we get to Opening Day. This will only further push down Butto’s chances of starting again.

Asking Butto to go from a reliever to starter isn’t as easy as flicking a switch. The amount of time for a pitcher to “lengthen” can be exhaustive. When the year begins, the plan should be to have Butto focus on one or the other. Barring injury or some significant unexpected roster move, there’s no place but the bullpen for him to go.

Butto has a long way to go before he can become the new version of Lugo. He has a decent head start. Last year was Butto’s age 26 campaign. Lugo debuted in his age 26 season back in 2016. His breakout season with the Mets came two seasons later in 2018.

It’s hard to claim the Mets are wasting Butto in the bullpen because of how excellent he is as a reliever. On a franchise that has struggled to develop starting pitchers and relievers for nearly a decade, it would be nice to have some homegrown talent as more than a talented arm out of the bullpen.

Control issues when he did start for the Mets last year might be the only thing holding him back. In time, perhaps they do give him his chance again. For now, we’ll have to enjoy him every three days or so for two or three innings at a time.