PORT ST. LUCIE — When the Mets informed Jose Butto of their intention to keep him in the bullpen in 2025, it brought the right-hander some relief. Not because he necessarily wanted to pitch in the middle innings again, but because he had clarity on his role. Whatever the role is, Butto is happy to play it, but after a year of uncertainty, the 26-year-old is just happy to know the plan early.
“I feel good right now because last year I started, and I [went] back to relieving, but now they say that from the beginning, I’m a reliever,” Butto told the Daily News Friday at Clover Park. “I can start my routine from the beginning of spring training, I can more be comfortable, talk more with the guys.”
Butto was developed as a starter and stretched out as one last season. The Mets had him make 19 starts for Triple-A Syracuse last year and nine in the big leagues. But when he was called up a second time, he went into the bullpen. Butto pitched effectively in relief, being used to pick up multiple innings and pitch in high-leverage spots, going 6-0 with a 2.00 ERA and three saves in 36 innings.
Still, the Mets never ruled out the possibility of moving him back to the rotation. Butto was happy to contribute, especially at the big-league level, but he wanted some certainty to be able to structure his offseason and spring workouts.
Pitching in relief is not the same game. While it might have looked as though Butto made a seamless transition, behind the scenes, he was working with the pitching coaches and veteran relievers to figure out the nuances of his new role.
He sought advice from Adam Ottavino on how to recover after long outings. He worked with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and bullpen coach Jose Rosado to understand how to best use his pitches when he came into games with runners on base. Butto couldn’t set up hitters the same way in relief. He had to attack them right away, which sometimes meant not using all five pitches.
“Everything is different,” Butto said. “Especially when you’ve got runners in scoring position, you’ve got to be pitching smart, but you’ve got to be careful too. You’ve got to be focusing on the game, every batter, every situation.”
The other challenge he faced was the mental aspect of relief pitching. As a starter, if he had a bad game, he had five days to work on his mistakes, watch video and figure out how to adjust. As a reliever, he had to have a short memory. The Mets used him often late in the summer when they were battling for a playoff spot and manager Carlos Mendoza saw that it took a toll on a pitcher who was still getting used to that workload.
But the manager also saw an eager player who wanted to help his team during the most important part of the season.
“I think the role kind of [changed], it was kind of like a back and forth where it was one out in 2-3 innings, and then we needed him to go back-to-back because we needed that,” Mendoza said. “It took a toll on him. He was pretty gassed toward the end. And to his credit, he kept taking the baseball. We were playing in the NLCS and there were days where he needed an extra day, but was still like, ‘Hey, man, if you need me, I’m available.”
Butto will work up to about 40-45 pitches this spring, with right-hander Max Kranick following a similar progression. Kranick could be another multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, or he could give the Mets depth in the same spot in Triple-A.
QUICK HITTERS
– Jett Williams was hit on the right hand right below his pinky with a pitch by Blade Tidwell during live batting practice Friday. One of the Mets top prospects, Williams played only 33 games last season between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, missing much of the season after undergoing surgery on his right wrist. However, there is little concern about the 2022 first-round draft pick.
– Rotation candidates Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning threw live batting practice. Megill worked on a curveball over the winter and had good results with it Friday. He now has eight viable pitches, but the Mets want him to simplify his approach to be able to understand how to best use all of his pitches, as well as have more situational awareness in games.
– At the urging of Megill, minor league right-hander Dom Hamel trained at Push Performance in Tempe, Ariz., over the winter. Megill started training there last winter after seeing the results his brother, Milwaukee Brewers reliever Trevor, had after training at the facility.