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Frankie Montas gets rocked in rehab start in Mets concern

Should the Mets be concerned with Frankie Montas after another rough rehab start?

Logan VanDine

Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Frankie Montas (47) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Frankie Montas (47) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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After seeing their ace, Kodai Senga, go down with a hamstring strain on Thursday, the New York Mets are hoping that the reinforcements they're getting back for their rotation will step up.

Unfortunately, that does not seem like the case with one of their pending returning starters.

Frankie Montas struggled again on Friday during his fifth rehab start for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. Montas got shelled against the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders as the righty lasted only 1.2 innings, giving up eight earned runs (seven in the second inning) on seven hits and a home run, while striking out just one batter on 53 pitches.

The 32-year-old is rehabbing from a high-grade lat strain he suffered during spring training, but this latest rehab start was certainly worrisome.

After stringing together two productive rehab starts, giving up just a combined four earned runs and no home runs, Montas's last three rehab starts have been anything but sharp. Since those two starts, Montas has given up 16 earned runs and eight long balls, ballooning his ERA to a woeful 15.43 in his five rehab starts thus far.

New York signed Montas to a two-year, $34 million contract during the offseason with an opt-out after the 2025 season. The injury bug and inconsistency have derailed Montas' career over the last couple of seasons, with these struggles dating back to the 2022 season after he was traded to the New York Yankees from the Athletics during the trade deadline.

Read More: Mets reliever Brooks Raley approaching rehab assignment

Montas went just 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with the Yankees during the 2022 season as the righty hurler dealt with right shoulder inflammation. The 2023 campaign then saw Montas miss all but one start as his shoulder problems continued. He eventually underwent arthroscopic surgery and made his only start in the second-to-last game of the year.

Despite staying healthy last season, Montas struggled with consistency, pitching for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. In 30 starts between the two clubs, Montas went 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA and 148 strikeouts across 150.2 innings.

While it's unclear when Montas will make his Mets debut this season, returning to the big leagues for the journeyman starter now seems more unlikely, especially after manager Carlos Mendoza admitted on Thursday that Senga's IL stint will not result in the Mets rushing Montas back.

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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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