Latest NY Mets free agent signing replaces Luis Severino at a 2024 Sean Manaea price

The New York Mets have a new starting pitcher and “frankiely”, it doesn’t feel as good as some of the other options out there. Frankie Montas was signed to a two-year deal worth $34 million with an opt out after 2025. Yet another member of old Oakland Athletics pitching staffs, the Mets can cross Montas, Paul Blackburn, Chris Bassitt, and Sean Manaea off the list of Athletics pitchers who’ve come to Queens.

The Montas deal is a cross between what the Mets did last year with Manaea and Luis Severino. Manaea had the opt out in his deal. Montas more closely matches up to what Severino’s career had been looking like.

Last year with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, Montas was 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA. It was a very below average year for him. Before any of us turn our noses up at what feels like an unsatisfactory addition or consider alternatives we would have preferred, we have to remember how we felt a year ago with Manaea and Severino.

This is Mets history repeated, hopefully with a similar outcome

Montas is not coming off of a good year and to spin it any other way means you probably have a poster of David Stearns in a red bathing suit hanging above your bunk bed. The price isn’t even a factor. It’s not our money.

A history of missing time has plagued Montas for much of his career. Last season’s 150.2 innings was a positive trend up with just the second time in his career of reaching the milestone. The 2021 and 2022 seasons were his only other years where he topped 100 with 187 in the former and 144.1 in the latter.

So what’s there to like about it? Montas did see his strikeout totals go to an insane rate of 28.7% with the Brewers last year. With it came harder contact but far fewer hits. Although his ERAs in Cincinnati and Milwaukee were similar, batters hit only .221/.302/.399 against him during his time with the Brewers. An uptick in home runs from 3.4% to 4.1% is an easy place to find the culprit to explain this.

We can delve into the numbers all day and come away with the same conclusion. The Mets see something in him that they saw with Manaea and Severino last year as well. We can accept this free agent deal for what it is if one other thing is true—make the next starting pitcher addition one with fewer doubts.