Don’t blame the NY Mets for avoiding Jack Flaherty, question the Frankie Montas deal

Jack Flaherty finally signed on Sunday night, rejoining the Detroit Tigers where he began last season. The deal ended up being a two-year contract worth $35 million with $25 million guaranteed. In 2026, he is guaranteed $10 million and can make up to $20 million if he makes 15 starts. The deal struck a chord with some New York Mets fans who viewed him as one of the most sensible last-minute additions they could have made to the roster.

The smaller deal and incentive for 2026 clearly suggests there are major injury concerns with Flaherty. Health was why the New York Yankees deal for him broke down at last year’s trade deadline. We can easily come to the conclusion it was why he never seemed to be on the Mets’ radar.

We can kick and scream about it. The bigger frustration is the deal the Mets signed Frankie Montas to and how early they agreed to a contract.

The Tigers have given the Mets the perfect free agent companion to compare Frankie Montas to

What’s a little odd about this is that both Flaherty and Montas were among the group of once talented young arms who settled for one-year deals last offseason. Each was traded at the deadline, Flaherty from the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montas from the Cincinnati Reds to the Milwaukee Brewers. The results were incomparable. A slender 3.17 ERA for Flaherty and a thick 4.84 ERA for Montas aren’t even close. Montas got a little better with Milwaukee, Flaherty a little worse with Los Angeles.

It’s not that we should be unhappy about having Montas. He was a really good pitcher as recently as the first half of 2022. Injuries washed away all but 1.1 innings from him in 2023 after an atrocious 8 start performance the year prior with the Yankees.

It seems the Mets may have jumped the gun on signing him, though. A deal made official on December 4, he has the potential to make $34 million—the low-end of what Flaherty takes home—over the next two seasons. His salary is for $17 million in both years bringing it just a million shy of what Flaherty is guaranteed.

Flaherty’s contract is more and with potential growth. One can’t help but notice the similarities between the two and which of them is coming off of a far better year. Montas was not spectacular last season and for him to be the first major free agent addition of the winter for the Mets feels a little bit like the team rushing last winter to sign Joey Wendle. While a completely different situation and far less money, Wendle clogged a roster spot the team could have just as easily used on someone else. We won’t rewrite history today. If we did, we may never get the same Jose Iglesias experience.

Almost two full offseasons to get to know his approach, David Stearns has been quick to snatch up starting pitchers with question marks while slower to add relievers. He waited until February to sign Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman last year. Frankly, he could have waited forever. Shintaro Fujinami was signed around the same time as well.

Montas feels a lot like this year’s Luis Severino and not just with the Yankees connection. The biggest difference is Montas doesn’t have an especially strong track record of eating innings. Embarking on his age 32 campaign, he has topped 150 innings only twice with last year being one of them.

The Mets can satisfy all fans upset by not signing Flaherty if they’re able to pull off a trade for someone like Dylan Cease. The Flaherty scenario felt like a reach in recent weeks. Now, seeing him get a contract so similar to Montas’, it just seems like a better alternative even with the injury concerns.