Frankie Montas agrees to a contract with the Mets

NEW YORK – Much of what the Mets built in their rotation last year was built on proven deals. Instead of investing in the best free agents, the Mets brought in Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, two starting pitchers with checkered histories who ended up being bargains.

David Stearns, president of baseball operations, appears to be using a similar strategy, at least in part, this winter. According to a source, the Mets agreed to terms late Sunday with right-hander Frankie Montas – a talented pitcher with a lengthy injury history whose two-year, $34 million contract is similar to Manaea’s a year ago. The deal, which the Mets have not confirmed because a physical contract is still pending, includes an opt-out after 2025.

Montas is the first significant free agent signing for the Mets, who entered the offseason determined to bolster a pitching staff that lost three-fifths of its rotation to free agency. He joins Kodai Senga and David Peterson in the projected starting lineup, with several depth options available beyond those three. Stearns has said he expects to sign several starters to big league contracts this winter, meaning the Mets aren’t done yet after signing Montas. Of note, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried remain available, along with a host of smaller options.

It remains to be seen whether the Mets will look to the top of the market to fill out their rotation or look for additional deals along the lines of Montas – a 31-year-old who finished sixth in American League Cy Young voting in 2021 missed almost the entire season due to a right shoulder injury.

Montas bounced back this year with a full season in Cincinnati and Milwaukee, making 30 regular-season starts and pitching effectively against the Mets in the National League Wild Card Series after a midseason trade to the Brewers. But all of his work was below his usual standard, due in large part to subpar leadership. Montas ran his fastball back to an average of 95 mph, just a touch below his career norms.

The Mets are banking on that cap. If Montas is right, he doesn’t look out of place among the game’s best starters, but he has rarely managed to hold that spot for long. In 2022, the A’s traded Montas to the Yankees after a great start in Oakland (3.18 ERA in 19 starts), but his tenure in the Bronx didn’t go as planned. The right-hander posted a 6.35 ERA in eight starts down the stretch while battling a right shoulder injury that would eventually require surgery.

After missing almost all of 2023, Montas signed a one-year, $16 million contract with the Reds. That included a mutual option for 2025, which Montas declined after going 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

It wasn’t quite the rebounding season Montas wanted, although he remained healthy except for a brief stint on the injured list because of a bruised right forearm. Montas’ 30 starts and 150 2/3 innings were the second-highest totals of his career, behind only his 32 starts and 187 innings in 2021 with the A’s.

Breaking things down further, Monta’s surface numbers weren’t significantly different last year between the Reds (5.01 ERA, 88 ERA+) and the Brewers (4.55 ERA, 92 ERA+), but it’s worth noting that his strikeout Rate increased from 19.0 to 28.7 percent after joining Milwaukee. The latter figure was among the qualified major league pitchers after the trade deadline.

Montas worked with a five-pitch mix in 2024, throwing his four-seamer, sinker, cutter, splitter and slider each at least 10 percent of the time. His most dangerous throw is his splitter, which produced a whiff on 42.6 percent of opponents’ swings.

Whether he can translate all of this into a Manaea- or Severino-style renaissance remains to be seen. Mets officials, with their pitching lab in Port St. Lucie, Florida, will be eager to get their hands on another bona fide return candidate – and will be eager to add at least one more arm around him in the rotation to put your shoulder on.