When you get to this point of a baseball season, it can feel a little cliché to say that the Mets wouldn’t be here without a specific player. It’s technically true about each and every player who appeared in a Mets uniform this year, of course, but it doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to say it about José Buttó.
The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher didn’t make the Mets’ Opening Day roster and hadn’t really even been considered a candidate for it. Having pitched pretty well, mostly as a starter, in a cup of coffee with the big league team last year, Buttó started the season in Triple-A Syracuse.