Frankie Montas saw his first proper game action of the 2025 season on Saturday, when the right-hander tossed 37 pitches over 1 1/3 innings for high-A Brooklyn in the first game of a minor league rehab assignment. Montas signed a two-year, $34MM free agent deal with the Mets this past winter, but was immediately sidelined at the start of Spring Training by a significant lat strain. Saturday’s game officially started the 30-day clock on Montas’ rehab assignment, and he’ll naturally need to further build up his arm strength over multiple outings before he is ready to be activated from the 60-day injured list.
Paul Blackburn should beat Montas back to the active roster, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Lutz writes that the plan is for Blackburn to make his seventh and final minor league rehab outing before joining the Mets at some point in June. Blackburn has missed the entire big league season due to right knee inflammation, while Sean Manaea has also yet to pitch due to an oblique strain. Manaea is throwing off a mound, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that Manaea’s projected timeline is about two weeks behind Montas. Despite all of these pitching injuries, even the makeshift version of the Mets’ rotation has posted tremendous results this season, giving the club a potential arms surplus to address if and when everyone is healthy.
More from around the NL East…
- The Phillies are another club relatively deep in starting pitching options, though they may be without Aaron Nola for longer a 15-day minimum stint on the injured list. Manager Rob Thomson told Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters that Nola’s sprained ankle is still feeling sore, which scrapped plans for Nola to begin throwing off a mound this weekend. Nola’s IL placement began on May 15, and while Thomson didn’t this continued discomfort as any sort of big setback, he hinted that Nola might need to face some live batters (whether in the form of a live batting practice or a minor league rehab start) before being activated.
- Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan is dealing with some shoulder fatigue, though manager Davey Martinez told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman that tests didn’t reveal any structural problems. Finnegan hasn’t pitched in either of Washington’s last two games, but figures he can avoid the IL with another day or two of rest. Finnegan has a 2.41 ERA over 18 2/3 innings this season, and figures to be a sought-after pitcher at the trade deadline if the Nationals can’t get into contention. The reliever’s secondary numbers (such as a 3.69 SIERA and slightly below-average strikeout and walk rates) are less impressive, but Finnegan has a 48.1% grounder rate and has done a solid job of inducing soft contact.
Would the Mets think of trading Griffin Canning? Imagine the return would be solid. Even with Blackburn to the bullpen there aren’t enough spots.
Soon as they traded him 3 guys would get hurt in a week. Never fails.
100%
Truer words were never spoken!!!
Blackburn is definitely going to the bullpen in place of Waddell or j Castillo. Montas will probably take place of the other player or Butto then go to six man rotation.
Health or production will dictate how they proceed later when Manea becomes available to play.
The Mets have some nice reinforcements coming, they are looking formidable in the rotation, need bullpen help, need a bat or two.
Luis Robert is heating up, he could be a nice fit for the Mets. The Sox would take less than Canning. Blade Tidwell would likely get it done.
Agree, Robert would be awesome, he needs a change of scenery, Taylor is a great 4th outfielder.,When Jesse Winker comes off IL, they may need to adjust roster… can’t see Acuna being sent down… Baty is here, been good since coming back from minors. Roster crunch…..
Remember, Siri’s coming back so we already have one huge potential centerfielder on the team. Serious crunch, you’re right. Trading Canning not a good idea.
Canning is going nowhere. Blackburn should keep his suitcase handy.
Canning has literally been a top 5 pitcher this year. Im not sure how hes doing it,but he is and you would be downgrading.
Everything you said is spot-on.
Jeremy Hefner’s pitching lab?
Hefner is awful, the staff can’t throw strikes and that’s on Hefner
Goodness me…an overperforming pitching staff and the pitching coach is awful…makes perfect sense, not.
Watch the games
I understand the Braves wanted to dump Jorge Soler’s contract, but releasing Canning, the trade return, and now watching him perform well for the Mets? AA is a solid GM, but he either didn’t think this one through or his analytics team just didn’t see what the Mets analytics team saw
“Dump Jorge Solor’s contract”…I totally agree. Also, the Mariners had previously convinced me that Luis Torrens couldn’t play catcher or hit.
Now, he’s doing both rather well for the Mets. The Mariners wouldn’t let Torrens get anywhere near a catcher’s mitt. Giving up on a guy who later performs well has gotta sting.
If it’s any consolation, other teams (like the Cubs) also had Torrens and passed.
“Also had Torrens”…What most pis*ed me off, is that I could see that Torrens was a serviceable 1b/DH option(at the time)for a light hitting Mariners team.
I just can’t see him practice at backup catcher. The Mariners obviously concluded he wasn’t an option or wasn’t worth the trouble to develop as a catcher.
I admit I was kind of surprised when he was the one put at first base after the Mets pulled Alonso for a pinch runner in the 12th Friday but it made sense to use him over leaving Azocar in the game and, possibly, moving McNeil over there. The game shouldn’t have even gone that far after the Mets had so many chances in extras after that incredible bottom of the ninth. I’m not sure what Acuña was thinking swinging on a borderline pitch at 3-1 when a walk would have won the game.
Lasagna,
Canning had 0.2 WAR in a full season last year (32 games, 31 starts).
This year he has 1.4 WAR in 10 starts. No one saw that coming. AA non-tendered Canning due to trying to skirt the payroll luxury tax (and partially due to the afore mentioned 2024 results by Canning).
Though he did so with LAA, an organization fairly notorious for not being able to develop pitchers. Canning was a top prospect, and though AA did this to skirt some luxury taxes, fans have wondered for a long time how Canning would produce with another organization.
Absolutely, AA out thinks himself when he trades….
The Mess has 2/3 of the A’s old rotation
Mess? Yeah what a Mess they are. On pace for over 95 wins.
If only they had luzardo and puk too
??????
??????
The Mets help guys get better. It doesn’t always work but their success rate is above average for sure.
@camikey – Well, recently anyway. As a Phils fan I was disturbed see Stearns hired, as well as when Cohen bought the team as you knew that they would have the money and a more professional organization running things.
I hate that – can you bring back the Wilpon’s please?
LOL. The Wilpons were indeed the gift that kept giving (to the rest of the NL East, that is).
Your Phils are strong contenders just like the Mets. What you have that we don’t are young arms ready to help right now. Painter and Abel are impressive.
If you share my belief that the Braves are still really good and that the Nationals are improving fast it’s pretty clear that this division is gonna be very, very competitive for years to come.
David Stearns is definitely known for getting the best out of mid-rotation arms.
Don’t bother with (not) Mitchell Page, everyone, this guy has been spouting this whole weird anti-Oakland diatribe since the move.
As a Mets fan, they need to get the bullpen fixed to get the ball to Diaz… When Manea gets back they’ll go to a 6 man rotation. Depending on how McGill performs, he may be the long man out of the pen, along with Blackburn in the Pen…. Montas and Manea to starting rotation…. Reed Garrett, Bhutto, the other relievers recently have been shaky, the same feeling I got when John Franco came in to close games years ago…. Just saying….
Bullpen’s a mess. The other night versus the Yankees, Mendoza left in Cabrera to face Judge with the bases loaded and Judge slays lefties. You’d think they would have made a call for a righty in that spot but they left in Cabrera, they had more confidence in the lefty than in their RHRP group. It said a lot about the Met’s bullpen situation.
Cabrera struck Judge out. It was big strike out and Mendoza was looking like Casey Stengel. Up comes the lefty Cody Bellinger. Bellinger smashes left handed pitching his entire career. Mendoza pressed his luck again and Bellinger hit a grand slam, put the game out of reach, Mets lost 8-2.
They definitely need some help in the bullpen.
bwmiller79:
It’s a long season there’s going to be be a lot of up-and-down. I would hardly classify the Mets bullpen as a mess though.
Mess might be an overstatement, but how do you let a lefty pitch to Judge in that spot? He is slugging 1.182 vs LHP and .675 against RHP. I guess it doesnt matter if its a righty or a lefty, Judge has astronomical numbers against both but its a significant split, its the eighth inning, your starter went six innings. You dont have a righty you have confidence in in that spot?
You get Judge to strike out, and you dont have a righty to put Bellinger away? Bellinger is hitting .405 against lefties and just .223 against righties. It’s a small sample size but Bellinger’s lefty / righty split persists season to season his entire career. You don’t have a righty in that spot? You must have a lack of confidence in your RHRP, I didnt check the pitch count of the RHRP in the Mets pen, but almost any righty there is a better option than leaving the lefty in to face Bellinger. Was an odd call, didnt work out, Bellinger hit a grand slam.
Dump Butto!
bwmiller79:
You’re speaking about one specific decision. I’m talking about the bullpen on whole. I don’t see them being a mess at all. One game doesn’t make a bullpen a mess.