New York Mets to release free agent bust

Frankie Montas' time with the New York Mets has come to an end.

It was announced on Tuesday that the Mets are designating Montas for assignment and officially granted his unconditional release, ending what was a disastrous tenure for the right-hander in Queens.

This news comes after it was also announced that the Mets were planning on adding outfielder prospect Nick Morabito to the 40-man roster; the DFA and release of Montas opened up that spot. Putting Morabito on the 40-man would protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and with Montas not expected to pitch next season after undergoing elbow surgery, it was no longer logical to keep the right-hander on their roster.

New York signed Montas to a two-year, $34 million deal in December 2024 with an opt-out after the 2025 season. This move at the time was deemed a bit risky, considering Montas' troubling injury history that included missing almost the entire 2023 campaign. Those injury concerns were realized in February, when it was announced that the 32-year-old would miss the start of the regular season after suffering a high-grade lat strain, which would keep him out for six to eight weeks.

Despite struggling during his rehab starts, the Mets activated Montas off the IL on June 24. He made his Mets debut that night against the Atlanta Braves and was effective, tossing five scoreless innings of three-hit ball with three walks and five strikeouts. Unfortunately, Montas began to struggle immensely at a time when New York's rotation was already thin due to injuries.

The veteran would only make six more starts for the Mets during the 2025 campaign, failing to go beyond six innings in any of them before being moved to the bullpen on August 12. After two lackluster bullpen outings, it was announced that Montas would undergo season-ending UCL surgery, which would also keep him out for all of next season.

In nine games (seven starts) with the Mets this past season, Montas went 3-2 with a 6.28 ERA, 32 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.60 in just 38.2 innings of work.

Despite exercising his $17 million player option for next season, the Mets are choosing not to retain Montas on their 40-man roster; however, they will still have to pay him that $17 million in 2026. New York is expected to be in the mix this offseason to add a frontline ace to its pitching rotation, as the lack of such a pitcher was a main catalyst in the Amazins' missing the postseason in 2025.