The Mets didn’t pick up the top of the line starting pitcher some fans had been hoping for ahead of the trade deadline, they did make an intriguing addition to the backend, acquiring righty Paul Blackburn in a deal with the Athletics.
Blackburn has missed a good chunk of this season due to a stress reaction in his right foot, but he’s been relatively solid when healthy and has pitched to a 4.83 ERA over his eight-year career in Oakland.
While he doesn’t quite have the upside of an ace-type arm, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is excited about adding the former first-round pick to the mix moving forward.
“This has been an incredibly consistent pitcher throughout his career,” he said. “He fills the strike zone, has kind of a kitchen sink approach to what he does, and we think he’s going to fit into our rotation quite nicely.”
The Mets still haven’t decided if they’ll be utilizing a five or six man rotation moving forward, but one thing is for certain, and that is that Jose Butto will continue working out of the bullpen at least for the time being.
The young right-hander has been absolutely dominant since rejoining the team from Triple-A Syracuse in a relief role, allowing just two runs while striking out 19 across his first eight appearances.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said on Monday night that he kept Butto in for the final three innings of a blowout victory in an effort to keep him “stretched out” in case he needs to make a start in the near future.
With the way he’s been pitching, he certainly would be a nice upgrade over the likes of David Peterson or Tylor Megill, but with the Blackburn addition Stearns indicated he’ll be staying right where he is for now.
“What Jose provides is a bit of a Swiss-Army knife,” he said. “He can be lengthened out, he can be shortened up, so I think he provides Mendy and our roster construction with a number of different options, so for the moment he’ll be in the bullpen going forward.”
Be the first to comment