The New York Mets added a solid piece to their rotation on Sunday night.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets signed right-hander Frankie Montas to a two-year, $34 million deal on Sunday. Montas also reportedly has a player option in the deal beyond the 2025 season.
Right-hander Frankie Montas and the New York Mets have agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract pending a physical, sources tell ESPN. Montas, 31, threw 150.2 innings with a 4.84 ERA with Cincinnati and Milwaukee last year. He is the first member of the Mets’ new rotation.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2024
Montas started last season with the Cincinnati Reds, who signed him after a shoulder injury limited him to just one game in 2023 while with the New York Yankees. The Milwaukee Brewers then traded for Montas before the trade deadline in July. It was the fifth time since he made his Major League debut in 2015 that he was traded.
Overall, Montas had a 4.84 ERA last season with 148 strikeouts in nearly 151 innings pitched. He went 7-11 in 30 starts, and he went 3-3 with the Brewers to finish the year. The team made the playoffs for the second year in a row, although they were eliminated again in the wild-card round earlier this fall.
Montas, 31, will now join Kodai Senga and David Peterson in the Mets’ bullpen after several other starters from last season hit free agency — including Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana, who helped lead the team to a surprise trip to the National League Championship Series earlier this year. Although they fell short of a World Series berth, it was the team’s deepest postseason run in nearly a decade.
The Mets will certainly make some other moves this offseason when it comes to their bullpen, including possibly inking new deals with one of their three starters now on the open market. The team is also reportedly in the running for star outfielder Juan Soto.
While Montas may not be a legitimate front-line starter in New York, he should be able to provide very solid depth to the Mets’ rotation next summer.
This post will be updated soon with more information.
