The Mets are in serious talks with JD Davis
Plus, the Spring Breakout Game is here and it's time to give Jose Butto his flowers
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets and Cardinals played to a riveting 0-0 tie on Thursday afternoon (Box)
Infielder Zack Short collected two of the Mets three hits in the game
José Buttó continued his strong spring, firing four scoreless innings
Austin Adams struck out the side in the sixth inning
Luke Voit struck out in all three of his plate appearances
Yohan Ramirez punched out four hitters in two innings of relief
Injury Updates 🏥
Third baseman Brett Baty returned to the lineup on Thursday after being scratched with minor back tightness on Wednesday
Jeff McNeil could make his spring debut on Sunday (Newsday)
Rumor Mill 🤫
The Mets are having serious talks about adding JD Davis to the roster, who has interest from other teams as well (New York Post)
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (9-8) vs Nationals(11-8)
Where: Clover Park — Port Saint Lucie, FL
Starters: RHP Adrian Houser (0-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Trevor Williams (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
When: 6:10 PM EDT
Where To Watch: SNY
——————————————————————————————————————
Spring Breakout Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets vs Nationals
Where: Clover Park — Port Saint Lucie, FL
Starters: RHP Dominic Hamel vs. RHP Jackson Rutledge
When: 3:10 PM EDT
Where To Watch: SNY
It’s time to talk about José Buttó… ✍️
by Justin Mears
When Kodai Senga went down early in spring training it opened up a spot in the Mets’ rotation to begin the season. Pitchers like Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, and Jose Butto, who had previously been ticketed for the Triple-A rotation, all of the sudden had an opportunity to compete for a spot on the opening day roster.
And while it seems like a foregone conclusion Megill will be given the first chance to capably occupy a spot in New York’s starting five (he has unquestionably earned that nod), it’s time to give Butto his flowers.
The 25-year-old had a difficult season with Triple-A Syracuse in 2023, working to an ugly 5.93 ERA with a 1.63 WHIP across 19 starts. The Mets still brought him to the Show as a September call-up, and ironically, he performed significantly better at the sport’s highest level.
In nine late season appearances for New York, (seven of which were starts), Butto held opponents to just a .212 batting average and pitched to a 3.64 ERA in 42 innings. The Mets hope was that he could take the confidence he gained during the year’s final month into the offseason and build on it when he reported to spring training. And honestly, that’s exactly what’s happened.
Butto has had a phenomenal camp, and really put an exclamation mark on his Grapefruit League performance on Thursday afternoon. The four shutout innings he tossed against the Cardinals have made his March statistics impossible to ignore. He’s now pitched 10 spring training innings and allowed one skinny run. He’s walked only two hitters, struck out nine, and not surrendered a single home run.
Now, Megill has admittedly been fantastic in his own right. The veteran has pitched 12 spring innings while allowing only two runs on seven hits and striking out 15 hitters. That level of performance combined with the experience of making 58 Major League appearances for the Mets over the past three years makes him the obvious choice for the vacant rotation spot.
But I think it’s safe to say Butto has left a lasting impression on this front office and coaching staff and put himself safely on the decision maker’s radar.
I personally think Butto deserves a plethora of credit for the way he’s rebounded from potentially career defining struggles last year. When you’re approaching your mid 20’s and working to an ERA close to six in the minor leagues, your future outlook is bleak. Butto’s intestinal fortitude to fight through adversity and pitch his way back into a competition for a big league roster spot is impressive.
Even if the next two weeks unfold the way I think we all expect them to— with Megill lined up on the Citi Field foul line and having his name announced on opening day and Butto in Syracuse—the latter will definitely be in Queens at some point here in 2024. Whether it’s early in the season, not until the summer, or even down the stretch, I’m confident when I say Butto will be on the mound throwing meaningful innings for the Mets at some point.
And from what I’ve seen over the last six months or so, that’s not as scary of a thought as it previously could have been.
About the JD Davis situation… ✍️
by Michael Baron
The New York Post reported Thursday the Mets are in serious discussions to bring back a popular former Met in JD Davis.
Earlier this week, Just Mets’ Linda Surovich discussed how good of a fit Davis might be if the Mets opted to sign him after he was released from the Giants.
Davis was set to earn $6.9 million in 2024 from the Giants, but that money was through arbitration and therefore not guaranteed. He was released before the money was guaranteed to him, so he instead received $1.1 million in termination pay.
We all know the story with JD. He can be a very good hitter with medium-level power and a minus glove at third base. That’s what he was with the Mets, that’s what he is now. He was a very popular player in the Mets clubhouse before departing two years ago in a trade that returned Darin Ruf.
That was, let’s just say, a bad trade for the Mets in the end. But at least Billy Eppler freely admitted it was a bad deal.
Davis’ last two seasons in totality haven’t been great at the plate which has watered down his value as a result, especially since his glove is probably a net-neutral move for the Mets at best if he were to come back on-board. He’s put together a 108 OPS+ with a .248/.331/.415 line with 30 home runs and 104 RBI in 259 games with the Mets and Giants since 2022.
The roster issue Davis would probably create if he were to join the Mets boils down to DJ Stewart, Ji-Man Choi, and Luke Voit specifically. Stewart would probably have to go to Triple-A to start the year and both Choi and Voit would presumably opt out of their minor league deals when eligible at the end of camp.
That means the Mets would be challenged with finding a left-handed DH alternative in all probability if Davis were here, unless Baty served in that role but it’s unclear how well he fits in that scenario and its unquestionably going to serve as a detriment to his development as a two-sided player.
The question ultimately comes down to whether or not the Mets believe some combination of Brett Baty and Mark Vientos can combine to be what JD Davis would likely be in one player, assuming neither Baty or Vientos take a leap forward in their careers in 2024. If the Mets don’t believe that to be the case, then supplementing their feed at third base with Davis would make sense at this juncture, especially with Ronny Mauricio shelved for the year after he underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his knee.
The thing is, that the Mets are even talking to Davis spells doubt in the Mets belief in Vientos and Baty, even though they’ve publicly stated they prefer to not block their young players from an opportunity to prove themselves in the big leagues.
Lets see what the final evaluation is, for both sides.
Around The League 🚩
The Braves agreed to a deal with Adam Duvall, bringing the veteran back to Atlanta (AJC)
The White Sox are moving righty Michael Kopech to the bullpen (ESPN)
Oakland right-hander Angel Felipe is going to undergo Tommy John Surgery (MLB)
St. Louis’ Tommy Edman will begin the season on the IL (The Athletic)