If Wednesday was Frankie Montas’ final minor-league rehab start, it did little to inspire any sort of confidence that he can successfully contribute to a shorthanded Mets rotation.
The veteran right-hander, who is nearing a return from a lat injury suffered in spring training, once again struggled with Triple-A Syracuse, allowing five earned runs on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts in five innings of work. Across six rehab outings, he owns a 12.05 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP.
Sunday is the deadline for this particular rehab assignment. The Mets will have to decide whether they bring him up to the big leagues, put him in either the starting rotation or the bullpen, or begin another rehab assignment, which for pitchers is a maximum of 30 days.
The Mets are desperate for legitimate starting-pitching depth, as the injury bug struck just as Montas and Sean Manaea — he is slowly working back from an oblique issue with his fourth rehab start coming on Friday — were nearing a return to the rotation’s picture. Within the last week, ace Kodai Senga went down with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, and Tylor Megill suffered a sprained left elbow. Both will miss at least a month, which currently leaves New York with a four-man rotation of David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning, and Paul Blackburn while entering Thursday’s series finale with the NL East rival Atlanta Braves on a five-game losing streak.
Had Montas shown any promising signs during this rehab stint, he would have been inserted into the rotation as its fifth starter next week—likely on Monday—meaning the Mets would have had to come up with a spot starter just for Friday, whether it be Justin Hagenman or Blade Tidwell, both of whom are on the 40-man roster. Manager Carlos Mendoza has already made it known that Friday’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies will not be a bullpen game.
