Jose Butto

Giants Select Kai-Wei Teng; Randy Rodriguez Named Closer After Doval Trade

By Anthony Franco | August 1, 2025 at 5:30pm CDT

The Giants announced they’ve selected right-hander Kai-Wei Teng onto the MLB roster. Reliever José Buttó, acquired from the Mets in the Tyler Rogers deal, has reported to the team and will be active tonight. San Francisco also recalled outfielder Grant McCray. Those three players replace Rogers, Camilo Doval and Mike Yastrzemski.

Teng is up for the first time this season. The Taiwanese pitcher made four relief appearances last year. San Francisco non-tendered him but brought him back on a minor league contract. He has been at Triple-A Sacramento all season. Teng has logged 54 innings across 25 appearances, mostly out of the bullpen, and turned in a 3.67 earned run average. He has recorded a monster 38% strikeout rate against a serviceable if slightly higher than average 9.3% walk rate.

The 26-year-old Teng has never had any issues missing bats in the minors. He has been held back by well below-average control, however. This year’s walk rate is his best since he was in rookie ball. He issued free passes at a 12% clip (with an uncharacteristically low 17.3% strikeout rate) en route to an 8.60 ERA at the Triple-A level a season ago. His performance this year has been far better.

Teng is expected to start tomorrow’s game against the Mets, according to Justice delos Santos of the Mercury News. He’d started four of his past five minor league appearances and has gotten up to 5 2/3 innings. He could take on a reasonable workload, but it’s nevertheless an indictment of the San Francisco rotation that they need to turn to a pitcher who has spent the bulk of the year in the Triple-A bullpen. They recently lost Landen Roupp to elbow inflammation and demoted struggling fifth starter Hayden Birdsong to Triple-A. The state of the rotation is a big reason the Giants pivoted late to trading away three notable players. They’ve fallen below .500 and are six games back in the Wild Card race.

Doval had operated as San Francisco’s closer for most of the season. As expected, Melvin has tabbed Randy Rodríguez as the team’s closer with Doval and Rogers now out of the picture (relayed by Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle). The 25-year-old righty has had a breakout season, earning a deserved All-Star nod with a 1.20 ERA while striking out 36% of opponents across 45 innings. He has recorded 13 holds and one save — the only one of his career — while blowing two leads. He’s under team control for another five seasons and will not reach arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason.

Mets Acquire Tyler Rogers

By Darragh McDonald | July 30, 2025 at 5:25pm CDT

The Mets have acquired right-hander Tyler Rogers from the Giants, according to announcements from both clubs. In return, the Giants receive right-hander José Buttó, pitching prospect Blade Tidwell and outfield prospect Drew Gilbert. The Giants designated right-hander Sean Hjelle for assignment in order to open a 40-man spot. Gilbert wasn’t on the Mets’ 40-man and won’t require a spot today. Both of the Rogers twins have been traded today, as the lefty Taylor was in the Ke’Bryan Hayes trade.

Tyler, the submarining righty, will be joining a new club for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Giants back in 2013 and has spent his entire career with that franchise up until now. He doesn’t throw especially hard, averaging just 83.1 miles per hour on his fastball during his career. But he has nonetheless found success thanks to his unusual delivery, mixing in a sinker and a slider with his four-seamer.

Perhaps because he isn’t a fireballer, Rogers is remarkably durable. He has never been on the major league injured list. From his debut in August of 2019 to the present, he has appeared in 392 big league games. That’s the most in the majors in that span.

The quantity is great but the quality is also impressive. Rogers has a 2.79 earned run average in his 396 2/3 innings. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his 4.6% walk rate and 56.5% ground ball rate are both excellent figures. This year, he’s been even better than before. He has a 1.80 ERA this season, along with a 20.2% strikeout rate, 2.1% walk rate and 64.4% grounder rate. He induces heaps of weak contact, as shown by his blood-red Statcast page. His average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate are all at least in the 94th percentile of qualified pitchers. He is making a $5.25MM salary this year, his final year of arbitration. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

The total package is understandably appealing to the Mets. Their bullpen has been ravaged by injuries this year. Since the season started, they have lost A.J. Minter, Danny Young, Dedniel Núñez, and Max Kranick to season-ending injuries. The bullpen has been a clear priority for them at this deadline. They have already added Gregory Soto and now Rogers gives them another fresh arm. Given all those injuries, Rogers’ durability is surely an attractive feature.

The money is also notable, with Rogers owed less than $1.75MM at this point of the calendar. The Mets are a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and are above the top threshold, meaning they face a 110% tax on any spending they add to the ledger this week. Some veteran relievers such as Raisel Iglesias or Kenley Jansen are making eight-figure salaries, so the price point on Rogers is a softer hit for the Mets.

To get the player they wanted, it feels like they have given up a lot. Tidwell, 24, was a second-round pick of the Mets in 2022. Since then, he has generally been ranked as one of the club’s top ten prospects. His results since getting up to Triple-A haven’t been astounding. He has a 5.05 ERA in 164 innings at the top minor league level. He’s been a bit better there this year, with a 4.10 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

Baseball America currently lists Tidwell as the Mets’ #10 prospect. They give him a 50 grade on the 20-80 scale and classify him as high risk. Their report notes that he’ll need to improve his control get become a back-end starter. A month ago, FanGraphs ranked him #7 in the system but with a 45+ grade, noting that he could develop into a mid-rotation guy but with some reliever risk thanks to his control issues and high-effort delivery.

Gilbert, 24, was a first-round pick of the Astros in 2022 but came to the Mets in the August 2023 trade which sent Justin Verlander back to Houston. Gilbert’s stock has dipped a bit since that trade. He missed a decent chunk of 2024 due to a hamstring injury and slashed .205/.313/.371 when he was on the field. This year, he’s been better, with a .246/.349/.435 line and 105 wRC+ in his Triple-A action.

BA ranks him #14 in the Mets’ system, also with a 50 grade and high risk. FanGraphs puts him at #10 with a 45 grade. The latter outlet notes he mostly does damage against fastballs but struggles against spin. He can play all three outfield spots but evaluators generally think it’s a bit of a stretch to have him in center. FanGraphs describes him as a “low-variance fourth outfielder.” He is going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December, meaning he’ll need a 40-man roster spot before then.

Buttó can plug directly into the San Francisco bullpen to replace Rogers. He has thrown 167 big league innings with a 3.45 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 43.9% ground ball rate. He is out of options and some of this year’s trend lines aren’t good. His strikeout rate was 26.9% last year but has dipped to just 20.7% this season, while his walk rate has stayed high at 11.1%. Perhaps he was going to get squeezed off the Mets’ roster as part of their deadline moves regardless.

Though it might come across a lot to give up for a soft-tossing rental, the Mets may not have had Gilbert or Buttó in their long-term plans. As mentioned, Gilbert was going to need a 40-man spot in a few months’ time. If the Mets view him as a future Quad-A outfielder and not an everyday regular, perhaps they could find another use for that roster spot. Buttó is out of options and might have been trending towards being designated for assignment.

For the Giants, there’s undoubtedly a lot to like in this haul. They hovered in the playoff race for a lot of the year but have been cold lately and are now five games back of a playoff spot. It was reported earlier that they would be listening to offers on their relievers. Rogers, as mentioned, is a 34-year-old impending free agent.

The Giants have swapped him out for Buttó. That makes their bullpen worse today but Rogers was on his way out the door anyway and perhaps they can find a way to get Buttó back on track. With Tidwell, they add some immediate rotation depth, something which has been an issue this year.

They have Logan Webb and Robbie Ray as a strong one-two but question marks after. They flipped Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers deal. Verlander is an impending free agent. Landen Roupp is currently shelved with elbow inflammation. Hayden Birdsong had some encouraging results earlier in the year but recently struggled enough to get sent down to Triple-A. The club will likely look for more starting pitching in the offseason but Tidwell can jump into that depth mix alongside guys like Roupp, Birdsong, Trevor McDonald, Mason Black and others.

Gilbert gives them some extra outfield depth. They will go into 2026 with Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee in two spots, but Mike Yastrzemski is an impending free agent. Guys like Luis Matos, Wade Meckler, Grant McCray, Marco Luciano and Daniel Johnson are on the 40-man roster. Assuming Gilbert gets a roster spot this fall, he’ll jump into that mix.

If Tidwell becomes a mid-rotation guy or Gilbert develops into an everyday outfielder, perhaps the Mets will feel they overpaid. But there are some reasons to expect those things might not come to pass, so it seems they felt it was a risk worth taking in order to get Rogers and upgrade their bullpen for the stretch run and postseason. Relievers tend to become more important in the playoffs, when off-days allow the top guys to pitch almost every game.

This could be the first of a handful of sell-side moves the Giants make. Verlander is an impending free agent, though he has a full no-trade clause and 4.53 ERA, which could complicate talks. Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores are impending free agents as well. Camilo Doval still has a couple of years of club control but could be on the move as well.

Hjelle, 28, is known for his height and ability to induce ground balls. Listed at 6’11”, he has 149 2/3 big league innings under his belt with a 5.11 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 56% ground ball rate. His numbers have trended in the wrong direction this year, with a 15.1% strikeout rate and 42.3% grounder rate. That’s a small sample of 15 innings, as he’s mostly been in the minors this year. In his 40 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, he has a 2.90 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate.

The Giants could try to find a trade partner for Hjelle in the next 24 hours. If not, he’ll have to go on waivers. He can be optioned for the rest of this year and could perhaps appeal to clubs looking for pitching depth, though he’ll be out of options next year.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Taylor was headed to the Mets. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Tidwell and Gilbert would be part of the three-player return. Joel Sherman of The New York Post was first on Buttó’s inclusion.

Photos courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Kelley L Cox, Tim Vizer, Charles LeClaire and Sam Navarro, Imagn Images.

Mets Notes: Butto, Senga, Megill

By Mark Polishuk | July 5, 2025 at 9:01am CDT

The Mets placed right-hander Jose Butto on the 15-day injured list on Friday, with a retroactive placement date of July 1. Right-hander Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A to take Butto’s spot on the active roster. Butto is dealing with an undisclosed illness, and manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including the New York Post’s Mike Puma) that the club expects to activate the righty for the first game back after the All-Star break.

Now in his fourth season in New York, Butto has been used as a full-time reliever for the first time in his MLB career and the bottom-line results have been solid. He has a 2.47 ERA over 43 2/3 innings and 31 appearances, albeit with a troublesome 11.2% walk rate and a 21.8% strikeout rate that is also below the league average. Butto’s 4.01 SIERA reflects the sizeable gap between his actual performance and expected performance, though he does have a strong 49.6% grounder rate, and very good chase and whiff rates despite his relative lack of strikeouts.

While Butto’s illness doesn’t appear to be too serious, his absence creates yet another hole in the Mets’ injury-riddled pitching staff. The Amazins now have 13 different pitchers on their IL, ranging from relatively minor situations like Butto to multiple hurlers who have been out for extended periods of time, or won’t pitch again in 2025.

One of the biggest names on the IL might be nearing a return, as Kodai Senga is slated to pitch for Double-A Binghampton in a rehab outing today. Senga hasn’t pitched since June 12, when a right hamstring strain cut short a start against the Nationals. Since it was just a Grade 1 strain, however, the Mets were optimistic that Senga wouldn’t miss too much time, and it is possible Senga might need just the one rehab outing before rejoining the big league rotation.

After injuries sidelined Senga for almost all of the 2024 season, he has returned in good form this year, posting a 1.47 ERA over 13 starts and 73 2/3 innings. A 4.14 SIERA reveals that Senga isn’t nearly as dominant as his ERA suggests, though his Statcast numbers are generally above average apart a 10.6% walk rate is only in the 17th percentile of all pitchers. Nonetheless, Senga’s relatively quick return is a huge boost to a Mets rotation that has been short-handed by injuries all season, let alone this second wave of health woes that have hit the staff in the last couple of weeks.

Tylor Megill was one of those most recent absences, as the right-hander hit the 15-day IL in mid-June due to an elbow sprain. Despite the ominous nature of such injuries, Megill said at the time of the IL placement that he was only dealing with inflammation, and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo wrote yesterday that a recent MRI showed that the inflammation had decreased to the point that Megill can resume throwing.

Since Megill has been shut down for three weeks, he’ll begin with some light work throwing off flat ground today, but the hope is that he won’t take too long to fully ramp up to starting readiness. Megill has a 3.95 ERA/3.61 SIERA in 68 1/3 innings and 14 starts for New York this season, with an outstanding 29.2% strikeout rate that helps cover for a subpar 10.8% walk rate.

Mets Keeping Jose Butto In Relief

By Anthony Franco | February 11, 2025 at 8:05pm CDT

The Mets are keeping José Buttó in a multi-inning relief role, skipper Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey). Righty Tylor Megill will stay stretched out as a starter and compete for a rotation spot in camp.

Buttó opened last season in the rotation. He started seven games and managed decent results, working to a 3.08 ERA across 38 innings. Buttó’s command was worrisome, though, as he walked nearly 14% of opposing hitters. New York optioned him to Triple-A in the middle of May. He started eight games and turned in a 3.05 ERA before being recalled at the beginning of July.

Upon his return to the majors, Buttó worked exclusively in relief. He was a quality bullpen piece for the season’s final few months. Buttó allowed only two earned runs per nine with an excellent 29.7% strikeout percentage over 36 frames. His walk rate remained elevated at a 12.3% clip. It’s difficult to stick as a starter with that kind of command, so it’s not especially surprising that the Mets will keep Buttó in a 2-3 inning role.

New York is likely to run a six-man starting staff. Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Frankie Montas and bullpen conversion Clay Holmes will be in the Opening Day rotation if healthy. The sixth spot could involve a camp battle between Megill, Paul Blackburn and free agent signee Griffin Canning.

Megill started 15 of his 16 appearances a year ago, pitching to a 4.04 earned run average while fanning 27% of batters faced through 78 frames. Canning started 31 times for the Angels last season, struggling to a 5.19 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate. Blackburn, whom the Mets acquired from the A’s at last year’s deadline, had a 4.66 mark while striking out 18.7% of opponents over 14 starts. Blackburn underwent postseason surgery to address a spinal injury, but the Mets are hopeful that he’ll be ready by Opening Day.

Mendoza also provided some details on the team’s infield mix. Free agent pickup Nick Madrigal will get shortstop work this spring, relays Mike Puma of The New York Post. The former fourth overall pick has not played shortstop in his MLB career and only has six innings of minor league work there. He saw some action at shortstop in college, though he was mostly a second baseman in amateur ball as well.

The Mets have less of a need for a true backup shortstop than most teams do. Francisco Lindor rarely takes days off. They’d ideally have someone capable of playing the position available off the bench, though. If Ronny Mauricio opens the season on the injured list, Luisangel Acuña is their most experienced shortstop depth. The Mets would presumably rather have the 22-year-old (23 next month) playing every day at Triple-A Syracuse than spending most days on the major league bench.

New York has three players locked into the starting infield: Pete Alonso at first base, Lindor at shortstop, and Mark Vientos at the hot corner. Second base is arguably the biggest question in a deep lineup. While Acuña and Brett Baty should each get time there in camp, Mendoza indicated that Jeff McNeil has the leg up on the job going into Spring Training.

“There’s competition but Jeff is pretty much right there,” the manager said (link via Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic). McNeil rebounded from a terrible first half to hit .289/.376/.547 over 40 games in the second half. A broken wrist cut his regular season short. McNeil made it back for the NL Championship Series. He had a rough series, which is understandable for a player returning from a month-long absence from game speed, but the excellent second half and his broader track record should make it an easy call for the Mets to keep him in the lineup to start the year.

Mets Designate Joey Wendle, Yohan Ramirez For Assignment

By Anthony Franco | May 15, 2024 at 11:10am CDT

May 15: The Mets made the moves for Wendle, Vientos, Lucchesi and Ramírez official today. They also optioned right-hander José Buttó and recalled right-hander Grant Hartwig. Buttó’s option may be slightly surprising since he has a 3.08 ERA on the year, but that’s despite a 13.5% walk rate. The Mets have both Tylor Megill and David Peterson on rehab assignments and they could be options to rejoin the rotation soon.

May 14: The Mets are designating veteran infielder Joey Wendle for assignment, as first reported (on X) by Ben Yoel. SNY’s Andy Martino reported earlier this evening (on X) that New York was planning to recall Mark Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse before tomorrow night’s matchup with the Phillies.

That’s not the only forthcoming roster move. Dan Martin and Joel Sherman of the New York Post report that New York will recall left-hander Joey Lucchesi to make tomorrow’s start. Righty reliever Yohan Ramírez will be designated for assignment as the corresponding move, according to the Post.

Wendle had a disappointing tenure in Queens. New York signed the former All-Star to a $2MM free agent deal. It was a buy-low move after he slumped to a .212/.248/.306 line in 112 games for the Marlins a year ago. Wendle wasn’t out to a much better start this season. In 18 contests, he hit .222/.243/.250 with one extra-base hit (a double). He punched out nine times and drew one walk in 37 trips to the plate.

New York signed Wendle largely for his defensive flexibility. He has generally rated as an above-average to plus defender throughout the infield in his career. He struggled on that side of the ball during his very brief stint in Queens, committing three errors in 89 innings. The Mets stuck with Wendle over Zack Short two weeks ago, but they’ll now move forward without a clear backup shortstop behind Francisco Lindor.

Swapping Vientos in for Wendle provides more offensive upside to Carlos Mendoza’s infield. The 24-year-old is out to another nice start in Syracuse, hitting .284/.376/.500 with six homers in 31 games. While Vientos is striking out at a lofty 28.6% clip, he has consistently hit for power in parts of four Triple-A seasons. That has yet to translate to MLB success, but he’s clearly a higher-ceiling bat than Wendle at this point.

Brett Baty has been the primary third baseman in Queens. The former top prospect hasn’t hit well, turning in a .236/.299/.325 line through 135 plate appearances. He’ll stick on the roster but could lose some at-bats to Vientos, particularly against left-handed pitching. Philadelphia will turn to southpaw Ranger Suárez tomorrow, so it seems likely Vientos will get the nod at the hot corner.

Lucchesi will take the ball against Suárez in what’ll be his season debut. The southpaw has started seven games for Syracuse, working to a 2.58 ERA over 38 1/3 innings. He also had a 2.89 mark in nine big league starts last season, though he hasn’t missed many bats at either level. Lucchesi fanned 16.4% of MLB opponents last season and has a 17.8% strikeout rate in Triple-A this year.

It’s possible this proves to be a spot start. Adrian Houser was originally supposed to take the ball on Wednesday, but Sherman and Mike Puma write that plans changed when the righty warmed up for possible relief work in today’s game. While Houser didn’t enter the game, he threw enough in the bullpen to take him out of the running to start tomorrow.

That proved to be an unfortunate sequence of events for Ramírez, who cedes his roster spot to Lucchesi. This will be the third DFA of the season for the 29-year-old, who can’t be optioned to the minor leagues. It’s the second time the Mets have cut him loose. Ramírez started the year in Queens and was DFA within a few weeks. New York traded him to the Orioles and claimed him back last week after Baltimore waived him.

Around the roster shuffling, Ramírez has tossed 14 1/3 innings over 10 appearances. Despite striking out 17 of 65 opponents (a strong 26.2% rate), he has conceded 11 runs. Ramírez has mid-90s velocity and has missed bats at a roughly average level in the majors, but he has walked more than 12% of batters faced over his career.

The Mets will have a week to trade or waive both Wendle and Ramírez once they officially announce the DFAs. Wendle has more than enough service time to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his salary, so he’d very likely become a free agent if no team swings a trade for him. The moves will drop New York’s 40-man roster tally to 38.

Mets Name Tylor Megill Fifth Starter, Option Jose Butto

By Steve Adams | March 20, 2024 at 10:31am CDT

The Mets are optioning right-hander Jose Butto to Triple-A Syracuse and will open the season with righty Tylor Megill as their fifth starter, manager Carlos Mendoza announced to the team’s beat this morning (X link via Tim Healey of Newsday). He’ll join Jose Quintana, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser and Luis Severino in the team’s rotation to begin the season.

Megill, 28, is no stranger to the Mets’ rotation. Injuries elsewhere on the roster led to him making 25 starts for the team last season, and he’d started 27 games combined in the two seasons prior. However, an offseason full of mid-range pitching acquisitions for the Mets — Manaea, Severino and Houser all joined the team this winter — pushed Megill back down the depth chart. Were it not for right-hander Kodai Senga’s shoulder injury, he’d likely have been ticketed for Syracuse himself.

Instead, Megill competed with Butto and did enough to convince the team he was the preferred option. Both righties pitched well. Megill has tossed 15 2/3 innings and held opponents to six runs on a dozen hits and four walks with 16 strikeouts. Butto yielded just one run in 10 innings and turned in a sharp 9-to-2 K/BB ratio. Megill is the older and more experienced of the two, and he’ll get the first look in rotation while Senga is sidelined. In 263 1/3 big league innings over the past three seasons, Megill has posted a 4.72 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate, 42.9% ground-ball rate and 1.50 HR/9.

Megill has flirted with a long-term rotation spot before and will again get a chance to prove himself to Mets higher-ups early in the 2024 campaign. Senga has yet to resume throwing, as his initial three-week shutdown has been stretched at least another seven to ten days. He’ll need to fully build his arm strength back up whenever he’s cleared to throw. That’ll likely be a weekslong process. Megill ought to have the first month of the season to make a positive impression. It’s always possible injuries crop up elsewhere on the starting staff and extend that window; Severino and Quintana, in particular, have had their share of health troubles in recent seasons.

As for Butto, he’ll head to Syracuse to begin the season but may not be down long. The Mets, as Healey points out, have a stretch of 13 games without an off-day early in their season and could look for a spot starter along the way. Butto is expected to be the next man up in the rotation and would be the leading candidate for that role, if needed. In 42 innings with the Mets last year, Butto logged a 3.64 ERA with a 21.2% strikeout rate, 12.8% walk rate, 42.2% grounder rate and 0.64 HR/9. He was hit hard in 19 Triple-A starts last year but posted solid numbers between Double-A and Triple-A back in 2022. He’s entering his final minor league option year and is still controllable for six seasons.

Mets Designate Edwin Uceta For Assignment

By Steve Adams | August 16, 2023 at 11:31am CDT

The Mets announced Wednesday that right-hander Edwin Uceta has been designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for fellow righty Dennis Santana, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Syracuse. Right-hander Jose Butto was optioned to Syracuse in a corresponding 26-man roster move.

Uceta, 25, was a waiver claim out of the Pirates organization back in April. He’s missed substantial time this season after undergoing surgery to address a torn meniscus in his left knee — a June procedure that sidelined him for eight weeks. The Mets only recently reinstated him from the 60-day injured list. He’s pitched three shutout frames at the big league level this season and another 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the minors. That said, Uceta has also walked six hitters against just two strikeouts in the minors, and he issued a pair of free passes while facing a total of 11 big league hitters earlier this season.

Command has been an issue for Uceta throughout the upper minors (13.4% walk rate in 83 1/3 Triple-A innings) and in the Majors (11.9%). Broadly speaking, he’s shown good ability to spin his four-seamer and to miss bats in the upper minors, but he hasn’t yet found much success above the Double-A level. Uceta has a 4.64 ERA in 83 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level and a 5.80 mark in 40 1/3 frames between the Dodgers, D-backs and Mets in the big leagues.

The 27-year-old Santana has had better, albeit still below-average results in the Majors, working to a 5.18 ERA in 147 2/3 innings between the Dodgers, Rangers and Mets. He tossed 8 2/3 innings for the Mets earlier this season, yielding six runs in that time before being designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers. Since heading to Triple-A, he’s logged 33 innings with a 4.91 ERA, 27% strikeout rate and 13.2% walk rate. Command has been an issue for Santana as well, but he throws harder than Uceta and keeps the ball on the ground far more often.

The Mets have only gotten 6 2/3 innings out of their starters over the past two games, so swapping out Butto for Santana — at the expense of Uceta’s 40-man spot — will give manager Buck Showalter a fresh arm in the event of another short start in the next couple games. Uceta will be placed on waivers or released within the next week. He’s never been outrighted in the past and doesn’t have three years of service time, so if he goes unclaimed the Mets can retain him via outright assignment.

Mets Select Zach Muckenhirn

By Steve Adams | May 1, 2023 at 3:35pm CDT

3:35pm: Between games of today’s doubleheader, the Mets have now announced they’ve selected Muckenhirn to the roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Stephen Ridings was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He’s been on the IL all year due to a lat strain and now won’t be eligible to return until late May at the earliest. The 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement, not today’s transfer. Additionally, righty Denyi Reyes was optioned between games of the twin bill while José Butto was recalled.

11:28am: The Mets are set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn in advance of today’s doubleheader against the Braves, reports Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). He’s not yet on the 40-man roster. The team has not formally announced the move, so it’s not yet clear whether Muckenhirn will be up for both games of the doubleheader or just the nightcap.

Muckenhirn, 28, inked a minor league deal with the Mets over the winter and has had a strong start in Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s held opponents to one run on 10 hits and four walks in 11 2/3 frames. The former 11th-round pick (2016, Orioles) also boasts a strong 51.3% ground-ball rate, but he’s punched out just four of his 47 opponents on the year so far (8.5%).

With Brooks Raley landing on the injured list due to elbow inflammation over the weekend and David Peterson being optioned to Syracuse as well, the Mets’ only lefty on the big league roster had been Joey Lucchesi, who’s currently working out of the rotation, Muckenhirn will give manager Buck Showalter an option in the bullpen for today’s twin bill and perhaps for the foreseeable future, depending on today’s bullpen usage.

Muckenhirn has spent the majority of his career in the Orioles organization, but he was with the White Sox organization in each of the past two seasons, generally pitching well with their Double-A and Triple-A clubs. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, Muckenhirn has a 3.45 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and a 44% ground-ball rate.

NL East Notes: Scherzer, Arcia, Sosa, Suarez, Harper

By Mark Polishuk | April 15, 2023 at 7:16pm CDT

Max Scherzer was scheduled to start for the Mets on Sunday against the Athletics, but Jose Butto will now take the hill tomorrow and Scherzer will be pushed to Wednesday. Mets manager Buck Showalter told the New York Post’s Mike Puma (Twitter links) and other reporters that Scherzer has some “lingering soreness” in his side, though Scherzer said that scans of the area below his scapula didn’t reveal any structural damage.

Butto was tentatively expected to receive a spot start at some point during the Mets’ road trip, so today’s news seems mostly precautionary in nature, notwithstanding Scherzer’s injury history. There might also be a bit of gamesmanship at play, since rather than face the struggling A’s, Scherzer is now lined up to face the Dodgers on Wednesday in a game with more implications on the NL playoff race.

Mets Designate Dennis Santana For Assignment, Place Stephen Nogosek On IL

By Simon Hampton | April 15, 2023 at 1:30pm CDT

The Mets have made a series of roster moves today, announcing they’ve designated right-hander Dennis Santana for assignment, and placed Stephen Nogosek on the IL. Jose Butto and Jimmy Yacobonis are on the way up from Triple-A.

Santana had struggled to a 7.04 ERA 7 2/3 innings for the Mets this season, striking out an impressive 28.6% of batters but walking 14.3% after being claimed off waivers from the Twins in March. Once a top prospect in the Dodgers system, Santana has bounced around the league via the waiver wire since his debut 2018, suiting up for three teams (and being claimed by two more but never appearing for them) and compiling a 5.22 ERA through 146 2/3 innings. He’d lost a couple of mph on his fastball this season too, as he saw that sit around 94mph having touched 96-97 as recently as last season.

Nogosek goes on the IL after suffering a bone bruise on his right elbow. He exited the Mets’ game against Oakland on Friday after being hit by a comebacker. Nogosek had looked solid through 6 1/3 innings of relief for New York this year, striking out eight batters, walking three and giving up two earned runs. He’s operated as depth bullpen piece for the Mets since making his debut in 2019, pitching 38 innings over four seasons and working to a 4.26 ERA. He his walk and strikeout rates have been a tick better than the league average, but he’s also been a little prone to the long ball.

With two vacant spots on the active roster, the Mets first recalled Butto from Triple-A. His only taste of the big leagues was a spot start for the team last year in which he was tagged for seven earned runs on four innings of work. The 25-year-old has put up strong numbers at the highest level of the minors though, working to a 2.33 ERA over 46 1/3 innings at that level over the past two seasons.

Yacabonis has bounced around the league since making his debut for Orioles back in 2017. The 31-year-old has suited up for Baltimore, the Rays, Mariners and Marlins, working to a 6.03 ERA in 118 big league innings. He’s never had much success in the majors, but has put up nice numbers in Triple-A. At that level in 2022 he worked to a much more palatable 3.21 ERA for multiple teams.

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