Frankie Montas Released by Mets Amid Injury-Plagued Seasons, Becomes Free Agent

Frankie Montas, a right-handed pitcher, was officially released by the New York Mets on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, due to an elbow issue, making him a free agent. This follows a challenging 2024 season where he split time between the Brewers and Reds, posting a 4.84 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 148:66 K:BB across 150.2 innings. His performance improved after being traded to Milwaukee (4.55 ERA), but inconsistencies persisted, including a career-worst 42.3% hard-hit rate. Montas' recent career has been plagued by injuries; he made only one appearance in 2023 recovering from shoulder surgery, which he underwent in February 2023 after a disappointing 2022 season (4.05 ERA with A's and Yankees). Despite past struggles and an 8.8 K/9 since 2022, there's optimism for a rebound given the Mets' success with other free-agent pitchers. Montas has shown flashes of front-line starter potential, notably in 2019 and 2021 (3.37 ERA, 207 K's with a dominant splitter), but consistent production has eluded him due to injuries and performance dips. His workload is expected to be limited even if healthy.