Mets complete first major offseason deal after officially announcing Frankie Montas signing

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News on Dec 4, 2024

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Frankie Montas has passed his physical and is officially the newest member of the Mets. The team announced the two-year contract worth $34 million for the right-hander Wednesday night.

“We are excited to bring Frankie into the organization and add a quality arm to our major league rotation,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “Throughout his career, Frankie has flashed some of the best stuff in the game. He’ll provide a stabilizing presence to our pitching staff and can contribute on and off the field.”

While Montas didn’t succeed with the Yankees, he turned in an improved season in 2024 after undergoing shoulder surgery. The 31-year-old made 30 starts with the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers, posting a 4.84 ERA over 152 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate rose from 7.5 per nine innings to 11 per nine in 11 starts once he went to Milwaukee.

It’s a similar signing to one the Mets made last year when they added left-handed Sean Manaea to the rotation. Manaea was coming off a strong second half of the 2023 season and the Mets’ internal data projected success in 2024. Their projections proved correct as Manaea became an ace. He had a career year with the Mets, helping them on the mound and in the clubhouse with his easygoing demeanor and veteran savvy.

Manaea and Montas played together in Oakland and the Dominican righty brings a similar reputation for being good in the clubhouse. After a season where character was prioritized, Stearns and his group are taking a similar approach.

Montas is the first major signing of the offseason. He’ll join Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Jose Butto, who was used as a long reliever last year but came up with the Mets as a starter.

The Mets plan to be aggressive in the pitching market with Manaea and Luis Severino being free agents. The team has said they’d like to bring back Manaea and the feeling is mutual from the pitcher, though it’s unclear if there has been any contact between the two parties.

The Mets are heavily pursuing outfielder Juan Soto, but this signing shows the Mets aren’t waiting on Soto to fill out their rotation. Soto is expected to make a decision on his next team either this week or next during the winter meetings, which begin Monday in Dallas.

Montas is another pitching project, but the Mets had success with two of them last season and hope to repeat it again in 2025.