Sunday, February 25, 2024 • 1:10 PM
Clover Field • Port St Lucie, FL
RHP Brandon Bielak (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP José Butto (0-0, -.–)
WPIX
The New York Mets play their first of seven games against the Houston Astros this afternoon at Clover Park. There are only a few teams left on the east coast of Florida, so the Mets play the same few teams a lot over spring training. Luckily, the American League Astros are a club the Mets do not have to play often during the regular season.
Yesterday’s spring opening game for New York was a bit of a mess. The St. Louis Cardinals won 10-5. On the positive side, the Mets were able to get 11 hits throughout the game. However, New York also recorded two errors and a balk.
There were several standout performances for the Mets that are worth remembering as we head into the second game of the spring. Nate Lavender, who is a non-roster invitee prospect, had a tremendous inning of relief where he struck out the side. Hayden Senger, a defense-first catcher who is probably fifth on the Mets’ depth chart, went 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs and a home run (the first of Mets spring training). Alex Ramírez, the forgotten Mets prospect, went 2-for-3 at the plate.
José Butto. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Mets Lineup
- Tyrone Taylor CF
- Francisco Álvarez C
- Ji-Man Choi 1B
- Mark Vientos 3B
- Luke Voit DH
- Ben Gamel LF
- Zack Short SS
- Yolmer Sánchez 2B
- Alex Ramírez RF
Opposing Lineup
- Kenedy Corona CF
- Victor Caratini DH
- Will Wagner 3B
- Corey Julks LF
- Pedro León RF
- Chris Gittens 1B
- Shay Whitcomb 2B
- Dixon Machado SS
- C.J. Stubbs C
Game Notes
The Mets have made the following minor league players available for today’s game: OF Stanley Consuegra, OF Carlos Cortes, OF Rhylan Thomas, 1B/OF JT Schwartz, RHP Paul Gervase, LHP Tyler Jay, LHP Daniel Juarez, and RHP Junior Santos.
Following Butto, the following pitchers are expected to throw: RHP Cole Sulser, LHP Danny Young, RHP Austin Adams, and RHP Yohan Ramírez.
Three Things To Watch For
- José Butto: With Kodai Senga’s injury, a spot has opened up in the Mets’ starting rotation. It appears Butto is competing with Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi for that spot (barring any surprise performances by prospects or non-roster invitees). Buttó started seven games and pitched 42 total innings for the Mets last season with a 3.64 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.332 WHIP, and a 117 ERA+. This was way better than his Syracuse (Triple-A) numbers last year where he had a 5.93 ERA over 91 innings. Butto became part of the Mets rotation in September last year where he had 3.29 ERA over 27 ⅓ innings, and this includes one bad start where he allowed four runs over four innings. While Megill and Lucchesi have more major league experience, Butto can make it an open competition with a strong spring.
- Non-Roster Pitchers: If you like watching non-roster invitee pitching, today is your day. After Butto pitches Cole Sulser, Danny Young, and Austin Adams are all scheduled to throw. Adams was signed to a split-contract at the end of November and was designated for assignment to make room for Jake Diekman. Before fracturing his ankle last year, he had a 5.71 ERA and 3.72 FIP over 17 ⅓ innings. Danny Young is a former member of the Braves trying to break it through with the Mets this year. In eight games (8 ⅓ innings), he allowed one run from seven hits while striking out 11. Cole Sulser is an Ivy league pitcher who had a great 2021 where he had a 2.70 ERA, 2.98 FIP over 63 ⅓ innings. All three pitchers are competing to get on the 40-man roster and one of the last bullpen spots the Mets have.
- Ji-Man Choi: Choi is one of the more interesting players in Mets camp on a non-roster deal. He signed with the Mets only nine days ago to compete for the back-up first basemen/designated hitter role on the Mets roster. Last season was his first season since 2017 with an OPS+ below 100 (68). He’s always been a player with some pop and more recently a player with patience to work out a walk. Even though went 2-for-31 at the plate with the Padres last year he still walked eight times.
