NY Mets free agent failure with Frankie Montas began with the day they signed him

Frankie Montas is this year’s biggest free agent bust. His on-field performance has been unaccepted. The unneeded player option for next year aids in making it an even worse situation for the New York Mets. Because of the money involved, they’re more likely to let him linger around rather than cut bait.

When did the trouble start? Blame it on the Mets choosing to make him one of the offseason’s first additions by any ball club.

Frankie Montas was trouble for the Mets when he walked in

Officially signed on December 4, Montas was an early free agent addition to the Mets roster and for major league contracts in general. The deal was agreed upon on the night of December 1, marking the first sign of what was to come for the Mets in the offseason. They would, indeed, embark on a similar venture to rebuild the rotation with some fliers.

Montas was the first domino to fall, agreeing to a $17 million deal for 2025 and 2026 with that pesky player option. It had shades of the Omar Narvaez deal. There never was much of a benefit to giving him full control in 2026 other than having it as a way to lure him to sign quickly in the offseason.

Many of those initial feelings we had about the Montas signing were a repeat of how we felt when the club signed Luis Severino early in the offseason following the 2023 season. The team was adding someone coming off of a bad year who had been good in the past. Could they have the same level of success with him that they had with Severino and Sean Manaea?

It wasn’t meant to be. Montas is moving to the Mets bullpen after only 7 starts and a relief appearance where he needed an opener as a last ditch effort to get more from him. Dreadful in his rehab outings sent out a warning sign that maybe our feelings about Montas, who hasn’t been stellar for several seasons, were right.

The mistake of adding Montas all began by making him what felt like an offseason priority. The Mets set the market by signing him. They never waited for him to come to them. It’s only money so that’s a mess Steve Cohen will clean up if he doesn’t last through the end of his contract. Amazingly the owner of a 3-2 record, the team happened to lose his 3 no-decisions to pour some cold water on any positive spin that could be created by his winning percentage.

The Montas deal might’ve hit a rare trifecta. He has been bad, signed to a bad contract, and added to the roster in an untimely fashion. The injury that kept him out for the first few months of the season isn’t even looked at as a negative any longer.