The New York Mets had already settled on veteran José Quintana as their Opening Day starter, and now they have made a critical decision on the back end of their rotation.
Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Wednesday that Tylor Megill has locked in a spot on the Mets' 26-man roster, and that he would be part of New York's starting rotation once the regular season began. As a result, the Mets optioned José Buttó to the minor leagues.
Megill and Buttó had been battling it out for the fifth and final spot in New York's rotation throughout Spring Training, with the other four positions being filled by Quintana and three major offseason additions – Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser. Projected ace Kodai Senga is still working his way through a shoulder injury.
Both Megill and Buttó put up impressive numbers in Grapefruit League play, making the call a difficult one. Buttó went 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA, 1.100 WHIP and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings, while Megill went 1-2 with a 3.45 ERA, 1.021 WHIP and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
MLB.com had Butto ranked as the No. 27 prospect in the Mets' farm system entering 2020. He moved up to No. 17 in 2021, then to No. 12 in 2022 before he made his big league debut.
Megill, on the other hand, topped out as New York's No. 23 prospect in 2021.
Buttó has less experience in the majors, pitching 46.0 innings for the Mets compared to Megill's 263.1. The former just turned 26 years old Tuesday, while the latter is set to turn 29 in July.
In 2023, Buttó went 1-4 with a 3.64 ERA, 1.333 WHIP, 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.8 WAR. Megill finished the season 9-8 with a 4.70 ERA, 1.575 WHIP, 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.7 WAR.
Mendoza apparently weighed age and experience heavily when making the final decision between the two homegrown right-handers. The best case scenario for the Mets, though, is that Megill doesn't last long in the rotation, since that would presumably mean Senga – last year's NL Rookie of the Year runner-up and seventh-place finisher for NL Cy Young – is back on the mound.
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