JUPITER, Fla. — Jose Butto might not win a job in the Mets’ rotation to begin the season, but he’s certainly stated a case this spring for his inclusion.
On Thursday, he escaped a fourth-inning jam with help from Brett Baty’s lunging grab on a line drive for the third out.
It gave Butto four shutout innings in which he allowed two hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 64 pitches.
“Baty saved the day for me there and right when we went into the dugout I said to him, ‘What do you want for dinner tonight?’ ” Butto said on a day the Mets and Cardinals played to a scoreless tie in an exhibition game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The right-hander has pitched to a 0.90 ERA in four appearances this spring as he battles for the rotation vacancy created by Kodai Senga’s absence to start the season.
Senga, diagnosed with a shoulder strain early in camp, won’t resume throwing until at least next week and will need a complete buildup for the season. The best-case scenario for the Mets is that Senga will return in early May.
Tylor Megill appears to be the front-runner for the spot based on his own strong spring and his experience level. Megill perfected a splitter over the winter and reported to camp with team officials extremely pleased with his offseason work.
Even if Megill ultimately earns the nod, the Mets are going to need Butto at some point this season — perhaps as part of a six-man rotation that could be implemented as the schedule dictates.
The first opportunity to insert a sixth man — if there aren’t any rainouts in the first 2 ½ weeks of the season — would be in mid-April.
Butto, who turns 26 next week, was effective for the Mets over the final month of last season when he pitched to a 3.29 ERA in five starts.
Manager Carlos Mendoza is new to watching Butto pitch, but has received enough information on the right-hander through conversations with the pitcher and staff to understand where the biggest improvement has occurred.
“I think just confidence,” Mendoza said. “He knows he belongs at this level and I think the way he threw the ball in the second half last year has carried over to this year. He’s a guy that is not afraid to throw a lot of pitches and attack hitters and it’s a lot of what we’re seeing.”
On this day Butto averaged 95.6 mph with his four-seam fastball and used it to help set up a changeup that produced five swings and misses. Butto primarily relied on the new sinker that he’s been working to perfect this spring — he averaged 94.3 mph with the pitch.
“Last year what I was focusing on was attacking hitters,” Butto said. “I went into the offseason and started focusing on that much more and then being here in spring training. I have been focused on being as good as I was at the end of last season if not better.
“Now I feel that when I’m facing these hitters I feel I can throw any pitch in any count, so I think that has been the most important thing for me, to go out there and have the confidence in all my pitches.”
Butto’s stuff could play as a reliever, but the Mets are more likely to keep him stretched out as needed rotation depth than place him in the bullpen if Megill receives Senga’s spot in the rotation to begin the season.
“The biggest thing for [Butto] is to get his pitch count up and build him up properly for the season,” Mendoza said.