10 worst NY Mets free agent signings of the Steve Cohen era

1) Frankie Montas

There, hopefully, won’t be a bigger free agent bust from start to finish as Frankie Montas became. Signed early on in the offseason prior to 2025, it felt like an immediate overpay to give him $17 million with the same salary available on a player option for 2026. Had they learned nothing from the Narvaez deal? When you give an underperforming player full control, it can’t end well.

A UCL injury knocked Montas out of action for the remainder of 2025 after 7 starts and a pair of relief appearances. A brutal 38.2 innings of work resulted in a 6.28 ERA. It’s possible we’ll never see him suit up for the Mets ever again, a thought causing exactly zero tears among fans who witnessed his time in Queens.

Financially, one could argue “it’s not my money” and overlook how much the Mets paid Montas. Knowing there are financial limits, even under Steve Cohen, this wasn’t an acceptable enough excuse to defend the signing. Montas has reached 100 innings only three times in his career. At age 32, it’s too few.

Excellent strikeout totals with the Milwaukee Brewers in the tail end of 2024 suggested a false narrative that Montas was moldable into overcoming the 4.55 ERA he had for them. There’s a clear truth about Montas. Even while healthy, he is a below-average pitcher. The Mets front office seemed to be the only ones who didn’t realize this.