Since late June, Frankie Montas boasts a 5.46 ERA through six starts, with his struggles becoming a real concern at the end of the Mets’ rotation.
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
The Mets signed Frankie Montas Jr. to a two-year, $34 million contract ahead of this season, looking towards the veteran to bolster an injury-prone rotation. With Sean Manaea out for nearly the entire first half of the season and Kodai Senga missing almost a month, the signing could have proven to be one of the most important for New York.
But the 32-year-old, who started only one game in 2023 amid shoulder surgery, suffered a high-grade right lat strain during spring training, leaving him sidelined until late June.
Since then, Montas boasts a 5.46 ERA through six starts, with his struggles becoming a real concern at the end of New York’s rotation. His woes continued in yesterday’s loss to the Padres — a contest in which the righty was staked to a 5-1 lead, which quickly evaporated amid a five-run bottom of the fifth inning for San Diego.
“Once we took the lead in that fifth inning, he just got away from his secondary pitches,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He was fastball-heavy, they were aggressive, he didn’t get many chases.”
Montas conceded a double to Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the frame before Luis Arraez blasted his sixth home run of the season. Both came off fastballs, which the Dominican Republic native has thrown just over a quarter of the time this season.
Opponents are hitting .242 against Montas’ heater this season and have notched three home runs. His average velocity, which was over 96 mph a few years ago, now sits at 95.7, leaving him with a mediocre fastball.
His second-most utilized pitch has taken a jump this season, though, and has been his most effective.
Montas’ split-finger, which he added in 2019, four years after making his MLB debut with the Chicago White Sox, has drastically improved. Opposing hitters are hitting just .182 against it this season, haven’t hit a round-tripper and are whiffing against it just over 35% of the time.
Meanwhile, Montas’ sinker, slider, sweeper and cutter have all been hit at a clip of at least .333 this year. The former Red and Brewer has thrown his split-finger 19.8% of the time — a metric that may increase considering his issues putting hitters away with other secondary pitches.
Montas found success with his sinker in his first start of 2025 against the Atlanta Braves, though, in which he threw it 23 times out of 80 pitches en route to five scoreless innings at Citi Field. His home ERA comes in at a very respectable 3.31 through three starts, but his road ERA is a disastrous 8.10.
If Montas can’t improve away from Queens, his time in the Mets’ rotation could diminish with Tylor Megill — who posted a 3.95 ERA through 14 starts before enduring a right elbow sprain — likely returning in August.
But if Montas could turn his campaign around, it would give an injury-laden rotation all the more depth heading into the final months of the season. Considering his struggles and injuries over the past three years, that may be an unrealistic expectation.
