Eddie Butler’s June Struggles Continue to Hurt Rockies

Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he wanted to move Eddie Butler to the bullpen because he was seeing progress by the pitcher as he threw in shorter increments rather than longer starts. However, that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Coming in after Tyler Chatwood’s day against the Miami Marlins was cut short by back spasms, Butler was rocked by Miami, giving up six runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings worked as the Marlins grabbed a 9-6 win over the Rockies. It was the second consecutive win by Miami over Colorado and dropped the Rockies to 0-2 on their six-game road trip.

“I think he sprints well,” Weiss said during Colorado’s recent homestand, referring to Butler pitching in short bursts. “We’ve seen a few times where he comes in and throws a couple of innings and he’s handled that role very well.”

He had … until Saturday. Heading into the Marlins series, Butler was 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA (allowing just one earned run in 5 innings) as a reliever with no walks and four strikeouts over his two relief appearances. His first career relief outing was April 27 at home against Pittsburgh, hurling 2.1 innings while allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts.

Butler looked solid in his most recent relief outing was May 24 at Boston, where he went 2.2 innings while allowing no runs on one hit with no walks and no strikeouts. But after being moved back into the rotation, Butler began to struggle mightily.

Now on his third stint in the bullpen, the Rockies continue to search where the 25-year-old right-hander can make an impact. It’s been a rough month for Butler. In his two June starts, he had 9.90 ERA. Saturday’s outing did nothing to lower that.

A few weeks ago, Butler appeared to be one of the cornerstones of a young rotation, joining Chad Bettis and Jon Gray. With a strong debut, Tyler Anderson seemed poised to join them. But my, what a difference a few weeks can make for both Bettis and Butler.

Certainly, Butler deserves a little bit of a reprieve after having to come in on very short notice on Saturday with Chatwood’s injury. However, Butler’s recent problems with getting outs is becoming more and more a cause for concern for Colorado … whether in a planned start or unplanned relief outing.

Next: Why Nolan Arenado Yelling is a Very Good Thing

Eddie Butler still has an option left, so a trip back to Triple-A is certainly not out of the question. With Christian Bergman set to begin rehab appearances, Butler’s temporary role as long reliever may be short-lived.