Can the Chicago Cubs Restore Eddie Butler?
On Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs traded minor league reliever James Farris as well as international bonus slot money to get right-handed pitcher Eddie Butler from the Colorado Rockies.
Butler, 25, is a former top pitching prospect who was drafted in the first round (46th overall) by the Rockies in 2012. Before the 2014 season he was ranked as the 24th best prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list and 77th before the 2015 season.
Wasting no time at all, Butler breezed through the minor leagues. In five seasons in the Rockies’ system, Butler went 32–25 with a 3.33 ERA over 486.2 innings pitched. By all accounts, his stuff was terrific throughout his five minor league seasons. This got Butler called up in June 2014 where he made his major league debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up six ER on 10 hits in 5 and 1/3 innings pitched.
This is when things began to head south for the once-auspicious pitching prospect.
Butler only pitched 16 innings for the Rockies in 2014, giving up 12 ER to go along with 23 hits and seven walks. Probably not what Butler had in mind for his debut in The Show. 2015 proved to be even more of a struggle for the right-hander. Invited to Spring Training right out of the gate, Butler earned a spot as the team’s fifth starter.
In 16 starts in 2015, Butler went 3–10 with a 5.90 ERA over 79.1 innings pitched. Command proved to be problematic for Butler, posting an awful walk rate of 4.8 BB/9. His strikeout rate also left quite a bit to be desired, sitting at a meager 5.0 SO/9. Your first inclination might be to blame Coors Field. After all, Coors is unquestionably the best hitter’s park in baseball. Routine pop flies in other parks can translate to wall-scraping home runs in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains. But upon looking at Butler’s atrocious 5.89 FIP in 2015, it’s easy to conclude Coors Field was not the only problem.
Things didn’t get any easier in 2016, either. In fact, 2016 proved to be Butler’s worst major league experience yet. He went 2–5 with a whopping 7.17 ERA over the course of 64.0 innings. In all, that gives Butler a career 6–16 record to go along with a 6.50 ERA over 159.1 innings pitched.
Can the Chicago Cubs bring him back?
That brings us to the question of whether or not the Chicago Cubs can make Butler a viable major league pitcher. It’s safe to say Butler has all but lost his status as an up-and-coming force as a starting pitcher. But at just 25 years old, there may still be room for optimism.
Why is there still hope for Butler in the majors? Look no further than Jake Arrieta. Arrieta was once deemed a bust after four less-than-mediocre years with the Baltimore Orioles. But after being traded to Chicago and working with pitching coach Chris Bosio, Arrieta revitalized his pitching career. After posting a 5.46 ERA in four seasons with the Orioles, Arrieta has pitched to the tune of a 2.52 ERA in four seasons with the Cubs, even winning the NL Cy Young award after a historic 2015 season.
So why not Eddie Butler? If Chris Bosio could turn a once-lost pitcher into one of baseball’s most dominant starters, there should be reason enough to believe Butler’s chances of success in the MLB haven’t quite run out yet.
Now, Butler’s window of opportunity as a starting pitcher might be closing, but he could still wind up being a serviceable relief pitcher. Joe Maddon has given multiple relievers multi-inning appearances. If Butler could find success in that kind of role, then who knows, maybe he finds his way to the back-end of the rotation at some point. At the very least he could prove to be worthwhile starting pitching depth.
The Chicago Cubs have already shown they are capable of successfully handling reclamation projects, and Butler could just be next in line. It’s no guarantee, but Chris Bosio and the Cubs might be his best chance at a comeback. Don’t close the book on Eddie Butler just yet.
