NEW YORK -- Embattled Mets starter Frankie Montas will receive another rotation turn, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Monday, though the Mets could use an opener to protect him at the beginning of that game.
After Montas allowed seven runs Sunday in a loss to the Giants, bloating his ERA to 6.68, Mendoza did not immediately commit to giving the right-hander another start. The following day, he and Mets officials made the decision, informing Montas in a pregame meeting.
“He’s willing to do whatever it takes,” Mendoza said. “So he’s going to prepare to make the start, but also understanding there’s a chance we’ll put an opener.”
Asked if the Mets are taking things start to start with Montas, Mendoza demurred, saying: “I don’t want to get too far ahead. Right now, we’re talking about his next start, and that’s what we’ve got.”
Montas’ next assignment won’t be easy, coming Saturday in Milwaukee against a Brewers team featuring MLB’s best record. The Brewers also know Montas well after trading for him at last year’s Deadline.
Whether the Mets use an opener in front of Montas will depend partially upon their bullpen usage Friday coming out of an off-day.
It’s not where the Mets hoped they’d be with Montas after signing him to a two-year, $34 million contract over the offseason. Montas subsequently strained his right lat in Spring Training and missed the first 13 weeks of the regular season. He performed so poorly on his rehab assignment that Mets officials briefly discussed bringing him back as a reliever, before injuries elsewhere in the rotation forced their hand.
Since that time, Montas has been a regular rotation member, making seven starts. In addition to flashing some moments of excellence, he has statistically been one of the league’s unluckiest pitchers, with a 6.68 ERA and a 5.03 expected ERA, according to Statcast data. But neither of those figures is encouraging, and Mets officials are particularly concerned that opposing hitters have slugged .722 against Montas’ four-seam fastball -- the pitch he throws most often.
Further complicating the situation is the fact that two of the Mets’ top three pitching prospects, Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat, have both been thriving at Triple-A Syracuse. McLean (the organization’s No. 3 prospect and No. 64 overall) has been consistently excellent, producing a 3.01 ERA over 14 games (11 starts) since reaching Triple-A. Sproat (No. 5 Mets prospect) struggled early this season but has dominated his last six starts, with a 0.55 ERA.
Still, the Mets have no immediate plans to call up either prospect. While that could change based on how Montas pitches Saturday in Milwaukee, team officials have yet to offer any indications that that’s how they’re thinking.
“I think it’s always a combination of when developmentally those guys are ready, and then there’s the need and how to fit it on the roster,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said of his prospects. “And so we may get to the point where we decide it’s the best thing to do to bring one or both of them here, but we’re not there yet.”