Right-hander Frankie Montas and the New York Mets are in agreement on a two-year, $34 million contract, sources told ESPN on Sunday night, adding a veteran to a thinned-out rotation in the team’s first free agent signing of what’s bound to be a busy winter.
Montas, 31, joins Kodai Senga and David Peterson among Mets starters after Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana reached free agency. While a reunion with any of the three pitchers who anchored New York’s playoff rotation is not out of the question, the Mets pivoted to Montas, who can opt out of the deal — which is pending a physical — after the first season.
Montas has shown flashes of frontline starter potential, with a splitter, slider and cutter complementing a fastball that sits around 96 mph. Cincinnati gave him a one-year, $16 million deal last year despite Montas throwing only 1⅓ innings in 2023 following arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The Reds eventually traded Montas to Milwaukee, and he finished the season with a 4.84 ERA over 150⅔ innings, with 148 strikeouts, 66 walks and 24 home runs allowed.
