The Mets activated José Buttó on Wednesday, giving a much-needed enhance to their banged-up bullpen.
The correct-handed reliever had been on the injured listing since July 4 with an undisclosed sickness.
“He’s been a big part of our bullpen, and we felt it when he went down,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza stated earlier than Wednesday afternoon’s sequence finale towards the Los Angeles Angels at Citi Area.
Buttó entered Wednesday with a 2.47 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 43.2 innings. He then gave up two runs in 0.2 innings in Wednesday’s 6-3 win, marking his first sport motion since June 28.
“I liked the [velocity],” Mendoza stated afterward. “He threw strikes. A ground ball gets through, and then a hard-hit ball gets past [third baseman Brett] Baty. … I didn’t see big misses. … It just didn’t go his way today.”
Within the 18 video games between Buttó’s appearances, the Mets’ bullpen recorded a 4.89 ERA.
His return helps bolster a bullpen that misplaced A.J. Minter, Max Kranick, Danny Younger and Dedniel Núñez to season-ending accidents.
“This is a guy that helps you bridge the gap and get the ball to the backend of the bullpen,” Mendoza stated. “He’s a guy that can throw the seventh, the eighth, the fifth or the sixth.”
Throughout his rehab project, Buttó hurled three scoreless innings over three minor-league appearances, most not too long ago on Sunday with Triple-A Syracuse. Buttó doesn’t carry any restrictions now that he’s again with the big-league membership, Mendoza stated.
To make room on the roster, the Mets optioned fellow right-hander Justin Garza to Triple-A. Garza has a 5.40 ERA in six appearances.
The Mets’ ever-changing bullpen has repeatedly been on the heart of pregame roster reshuffling in latest weeks.
Wednesday’s strikes got here a day after the Mets known as up Garza, activated Rico Garcia, optioned Kevin Hergnet, designated Chris Devenski for project, and positioned Brandon Waddell on the 15-day injured listing with a proper hip impingement.
“I think providing some reinforcements in the bullpen would be great,” president of baseball operations David Stearns stated Monday, lower than two weeks earlier than the July 31 commerce deadline.
PAUL’S PROGRESS
Paul Blackburn threw 5 stable innings with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday as he works towards coming back from a proper shoulder impingement.
Making his second rehab begin, Blackburn restricted Kansas Metropolis’s Triple-A affiliate to at least one run and struck out 5 over 72 pitches.
The Mets need the right-hander to make no less than yet one more rehab look earlier than they take into account activating him, Mendoza stated.
“I was just talking to him,” Mendoza stated Wednesday. “He feels good.”
After being acquired by the Mets earlier than final yr’s commerce deadline, Blackburn has additionally handled a hand contusion he suffered on a comebacker; a spinal fluid leak that ended his 2024 season; and proper knee irritation that delayed his begin to this one.
Blackburn is 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in six appearances, together with 4 begins, within the majors this yr.
SPEEDY SOTO
Juan Soto achieved a bit of non-public historical past on Tuesday when he stole his thirteenth base of the season.
That set a profession excessive for Soto, who beforehand swiped 12 bases in 2019 and 2023.
“We know he’s a great hitter, elite hitter, one of the best of the best, but he wanted to be a complete player,” Mendoza stated. “I remember having that conversation with him [during spring training].”
Soto, who’s within the first season of a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, entered Wednesday with a base-running ranking of 0.8, in line with FanGraphs’ BsR metric. That is the primary time since 2019 that Soto has posted a constructive BsR grade.
Initially Revealed: July 23, 2025 at 12:52 PM EDT
