5 under-the-radar Mets trade candidates if the team sells this summer

4) Jose Butto

Believe it or not, Jose Butto is also out of minor league options after this season. Time flies when you’re having fun or at least sticking on the 40-man roster but not seeing much major league action.

Butto has pitched well for the Mets this year. In fact, he probably should be on the major league roster over a couple of other starters. An under-the-radar prospect for a couple of years now, he looks much more like a starter than someone who’ll get relegated to relief duties.

There are aspects of Butto’s game to work on. He walks far too many batters. It’s a plague on the 2024 Mets. As much as many of us would love to see what he develops into, guaranteeing him a spot on next year’s roster seems a bit foolish when other clubs could trade for him this summer. He has yet to even reach arbitration. If successful elsewhere, he can stick around for a couple of seasons.

It would be a bit of a letdown to see Butto go after how well he has done for the Mets this year. Understanding the circumstance that he’s either with the big league team all season in 2025 or a DFA candidate, it’s easier to digest the possibility of sending him elsewhere so early on in his MLB career.