Inside The Mets

Mets' Frankie Montas to miss significant time in massive blow

Newly signed starting pitcher Frankie Montas will be shut down for a significant stretch.

Logan VanDine

Oct 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Frankie Montas (47) is removed from the game during the fourth inning in game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the New York Mets at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Oct 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Frankie Montas (47) is removed from the game during the fourth inning in game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the New York Mets at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
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This is not the ideal news the New York Mets would like to hear on their first day of full-team workouts this spring.

On Monday, New York Post writers Mike Puma and Jon Heyman reported that newly signed starting pitcher Frankie Montas has not been throwing since arriving in Port St. Lucie, Florida and will be shut down for a "significant stretch". Mets manager Carlos Mendoza later confirmed that Montas has a high-grade lat strain and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks; he will get a PRP injection for the time being, and will get a full spring training build up in two months.

New York signed Montas early on in the offseason on a two-year, $34 million contract; this signing was always deemed as a risky one due to the 31-year-old's injury history.

Despite staying healthy last season pitching for both the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, going 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA in 30 starts and 150.2 innings pitched, the 2023 season saw Montas miss a considerable amount of time.

Read More: Why Insider Isn't Fan of Mets Signing Frankie Montas

2023 was the righty's first full season pitching for the New York Yankees after being traded by the then-Oakland Athletics the season before. On January 14 of that year, the Yankees announced that Montas would likely miss the first month of the season with right shoulder inflammation. Montas eventually needed to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, which kept him out for 99.9% of the year; he ended up making a single cameo outing in New York's penultimate game.

With Montas not expected to throw for a while after being seen as a back-end starter for the Mets' six-man rotation, the Amazins' will have to look at other options this spring. Potential arms to watch out for are Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, and highly touted prospect Brandon Sproat.

Sources have told Pat Ragazzo of Mets On SI that relief pitcher Jose Butto is not considered a starting option as of now. Meanwhile, Blackburn could be ready by Opening Day after undergoing a cerebrospinal fluid leak repair procedure in October.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan

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