The 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), 210 pounds (95 kg) right-hander is the son of former major league catcher Sal Butera.

[2] Butera played baseball and golf at Bishop Moore High School in Orlando, Florida, graduating in 2002.

[3] He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 48th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft but opted instead to attend the University of Central Florida (UCF).

The Mets traded Butera and Dustin Martin on July 30, 2007 to the Minnesota Twins for second baseman Luis Castillo.

[12] On May 15, 2014, in a 13–3 blowout loss to the Miami Marlins, Butera pitched a scoreless 9th inning, with his fastball reaching the mid-90s on the radar gun.

[24] He was the Dodgers' backup catcher all season and hit .188/.267/.288 in 192 plate appearances in 61 games, with three home runs and 14 RBIs.

He drew a 10-pitch walk with one out to load the bases, enabling the following batter, Alex Gordon, to hit an RBI grounder to drive in the game-winning run.

[33] In the deciding Game 5 of the 2015 World Series, Perez hit a single in the top of the 12th inning and was replaced by pinch runner Jarrod Dyson, who came around to score the game-winning run.

Butera then entered as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 12th inning and caught the season-ending strikeout from closer Wade Davis to clinch the Royals' championship.

On June 25, Butera pitched in the 9th inning, facing four batters, striking out one, and giving up no runs in a 13–5 loss to the Astros.

[35][36] On July 26, Butera pitched the final out of the top of the 9th inning, facing only Johnny Giavotella who grounded out in a 13–0 loss to the Angels.

[29] On August 31, 2018, Butera was traded to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for pitcher Jerry Vasto.

[42] On February 5, 2019, Butera signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies with an invitation to spring training.

[50] Butera had his contract selected to the Rockies roster on July 22, 2020, before the start of the shortened 2020 season.

On January 12, 2021, Butera signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization.

[53] On March 27, 2021, Butera was released, but re-signed with the Rangers on a new minor league contract the same day.

On August 31, 2021, Butera signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros organization.

[64] On November 7, 2023, the Chicago White Sox announced Butera as the team's catching coach.

[65] He remained with the White Sox headed into 2025 after the club's historically poor record and change in managers.