Mets’ pitcher shuffle continues as another reliever heads to IL

Speaking to the media on Friday morning, manager Carlos Mendoza did not provide much detail about Butto’s condition.

“We announced that he is ill and we want to leave it at that,” Mendoza said. “We don’t want to get into the details of it out of respect for Butto. We don’t anticipate it to be long-term, we expect him to be back right after the All-Star break.”

Mendoza does not believe that Butto will need a rehab assignment when he is ready to return from the IL.

To replace Butto, the Mets called up veteran reliever Chris Devenski from Triple-A Syracuse; Devenski last appeared for the Mets on June 22nd against the Philadelphia Phillies. The 34-year-old has appeared in just four games for the Mets this year, but could be in for some work for a depleted staff heading into the All-Star break.

New York’s pitching staff is limping into the break after the team put both Dedniel Núñez and Paul Blackburn on the IL on Thursday. Núñez could potentially need Tommy John surgery, which would end his season and keep him out for a chunk of 2026. The Mets are already down Max Kranick and Tylor Megill with their own elbow injuries, and recently lost Griffin Canning for the year with an Achilles rupture.

The Mets are heading into the Subway Series off of back-to-back wins over the Milwaukee Brewers, but have won just five of their previous 19 games. They sit 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the lead in the NL East heading into Friday’s action.