Butera Joins Isotopes

Catcher Drew Butera joined the Albuquerque Isotopes today. The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Butera from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque yesterday, July 31.

Butera, who turns 30 on Aug. 9, has a .182 career batting average with five home runs and 41 RBI in 186 career big league games with the Twins from 2010-13 and has hit .217 with 24 home runs and 169 RBI in 485 games during seven minor league seasons.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder appeared in two games with the Twins during a brief call-up from July 24-28. The right-handed backstop has spent the majority of the 2013 campaign with Triple-A Rochester in the International League, batting .229 with two homers and 10 RBI in 26 games with the Red Wings.

Butera was originally selected by the Mets in the fifth round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Central Florida. He is the son of former Major League catcher Sal Butera, who played in nine seasons with the Twins (1980-82, 1987), Tigers (1983), Expos (1984-85), Reds (1986-87) and Blue Jays (1988).

Game three of the Isotopes four-game series is tonight. Angel Castro starts for Albuquerque. Arnold Leon goes for Sacramento. First pitch is at 8:05 pm Mountain Time and all the action can be heard on 610 "The Sports Animal" with Josh Suchon on the call.