Drew Butera, Catcher

Date of Birth: 8/9/1983
Birthplace: Evansville, Illinois
College: University of Central Florida

Drew Butera, catcher, is the son of catcher Sal Butera, who played in the major leagues from 1980 through 1988. The younger Butera was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002 but he didn't sign with them. Three years later, he started his professional baseball career when he was drafted by the New York Mets. He played in the Mets' minor league system from 2005 until they traded him to the Minnesota Twins in 2007. He then continued in the Twins' minor league system until 2010, joining the Twins for 49 games that year.

Butera played in 93 games with the Twins in 2011. He batted just .167 but defensively, he fared much better. He made 38 assists, 418 putouts, and 5 errors with a .989 fielding percentage.

After just two games with the Twins in 2013, they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of July. He played in four games with the Dodgers in 2013, spending the rest of the time in the minor leagues. He finished the 2014 season with 32 hits and a .188 batting average in 61 games. He didn't play with the Dodgers in the postseason.

On December 5, 2014, Butera was designated for assignment. Four days later, he was traded to the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels traded him to the Kansas City Royals on May 7, 2015. He finished the 2015 season with 21 hits and a .196 batting average in 10 games with the Angels and 45 games with the Royals. As a catcher in 49 games, he made 17 assists, 211 putouts, and 4 errors. He caught players trying to steal 37.5% of the time and he had a .983 fielding percentage. In postseason play, he had no hits and one walk in one at-bat.

Butera played in just 56 games with the Royals in 2016. He batted .285 with 35 hits, including 10 doubles and 4 home runs.

The Royals and Butera agreed on a two-year, $3.8 million contract on November 18, 2016. He played in 75 games in 2017 and he had a .227 batting average with 37 hits. Defensively, as the Royals' catcher in 74 games, he made 18 assists, 397 putouts, and 2 errors. He caught players trying to steal 25% of the time.

The Royals traded Butera to the Colorado Rockies on August 31, 2018. He played in just 51 games with the Royals and 10 games with the Rockies in 2018. He batted .190 with 31 hits.

Butera became a free agent on October 29, 2018. He signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on February 11, 2019. He was released on March 21st. He signed a minor league contract with the Rockies on March 25th. He spent most of the 2019 season in the minors, playing in just 16 games with the Rockies.

Butera became a free agent on October 31, 2019. He rejoined the Rockies on a minor league contract on December 19th. He finished the 2020 season with 6 hits and a .154 batting average in 28 games.

Butera elected free agency on October 28, 2020. He signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on January 13, 2021. He was traded to the Los Angeles Angels on May 7, 2021. He was released on August 31st, and on the same day, he signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros. He spent most of the 2021 season in the minors, playing in just 12 games with the Angels.

Butera became a free agent on November 7, 2021.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Drew Butera
ESPN - Drew Butera