Ranking the 3 realistic starting rotation replacements for Tylor Megill

2) Jose Butto

Ride the hot arm. Jose Butto was better than Lucchesi in the 2023 regular season for the Mets. He was hot this spring, too. His 3.64 ERA in 42 innings spent mostly as a starter for last year’s team is inferior to what Lucchesi did but other metrics measure him more strongly such as a 4.02 FIP.

Butto gave up 2 earned runs and another unearned run in his debut for Syracuse. With just 2 strikeouts and twice as many walks, it wasn’t the promising start to the regular season.

The 0.90 ERA he had in spring training with the Mets in 10 innings of work still lingers, though. Perhaps it’s the burnout of seeing Lucchesi be no better than average and some promise of Butto being much better which has them ranked in this order. As much of a non-standout as Butto has been over the years with the Mets in the minors, he has consistently posted ERAs below 4.00 in every minor league season except last year. In 19 Triple-A starts, Butto was 3-7 with a 5.93 ERA.

The choice between Butto and Lucchesi might ultimately come down to the matchup and roster moves. In fact, whoever gets the call first might be the one to get only a single start as opposed to the other staying in the rotation for a second.

The Mets are unlikely to add someone to their 40-man roster to replace Megill. So who’s the top choice? Let’s go outside of the organization.