Mets sending Frankie Montas to bullpen; could top prospects Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat take his rotation spot?
Mets pitcher Frankie Montas walks off after the second inning against the Yankees at Citi Field on July 5 in Queens. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Frankie Montas’ first Mets season has not gone swimmingly.
So on Tuesday, when manager Carlos Mendoza announced Montas was moving to the bullpen, it was far from a surprise (though objectively disappointing, considering the righthander signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Mets in the offseason).
Mendoza said Montas will be available in the bullpen on Thursday. A to-be-determined starter will fill his spot against Seattle on Saturday.
The question that lingers is one Mets fans have wondered about for months: will either Brandon Sproat or Nolan McLean be called up from Triple-A Syracuse?
“They are in the conversation,” Mendoza said before Tuesday night’s game against Atlanta at Citi Field. “We just haven't decided who the guy is, but they're definitely in the conversation. We'll see where it goes. But whoever comes up here, if it’s one of the prospects, the plan is [to] give them a good look here.”
McLean and Sproat, both 24-year-old righthanders, are the No. 3 and 5 prospects in the Mets organization, respectively, according to MLB.com.
In 16 games (13 starts) with Syracuse this season after beginning the year with Double-A Binghamton, McLean is 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA, 97 strikeouts and 38 walks in 87 1/3 innings. In 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts, McLean has allowed one run, three hits and struck out 14.
Sproat, who has been with Syracuse since last August, is 7-5 with a 4.10 ERA, 86 strikeouts and 45 walks in 101 innings (22 starts) this season. He has been dominant of late, posting a 1.15 ERA in his last seven starts.
"They're doing a great job," president of baseball operations David Stearns said earlier this month, while also stressing that the team won't do anything to hinder their development. "I think they're putting themselves in the position, when and if we have a need, we feel confident going down there and getting an arm. And we're going to continue to factor them in as we go through the rest of the season."
And reports from down on the farm appear to be positive.
“There's a lot to like, especially where they're at with their development,” Mendoza said. “We continue to ask a lot – where it's a Sproat with a changeup and finding something against lefties. Same thing with McLean. But the way they've been competing, they've been going more than five innings, and they're getting results. So everything that we're asking them to do, they continue to do it. With McLean, same way...not only his ability to pitch, but it's just the mentality, the compete, the way he holds runners.
“There's a lot to like when you're talking to some of the staff members out in Triple-A. So again, they continue to put themselves in a really good position. And here they are: in the conversation.”
Paul Blackburn (right shoulder impingement) will start for Syracuse on Wednesday, his sixth rehab start. He is not an option for the Mets on Saturday.
Montas made his season debut on June 24. Since then, the Mets rotation has thrown an MLB-low 174 1/3 innings.
Montas, who missed three months with a right lat strain, is 3-2 with a 6.38 ERA in eight games. He tossed five scoreless innings against Atlanta in his first game with the Mets, but he allowed at least four runs in four of his next six starts – none of which lasted more than 5 2/3 innings.
The Mets used Reed Garrett as an opener in Milwaukee on Saturday to try and ease things for Montas, who pitched only three innings and gave up three runs (one earned).
For Montas, who finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting with the Athletics in 2021, the move to the bullpen is a drastic change.
“Not happy,” Mendoza said of how Montas took the news. “He's a competitor. He wants to start, and that's what we brought him in for. But understanding that the results haven't been there. So he understood, and he's willing to do whatever it takes. Again, the communication is going to be the big factor here. But it wasn't a surprise today. This was something that I kind of put it on the table with him on Sunday. And then today, we finally had that final conversation.”
Montas is expected to be used in long relief, but plans could change depending on the situation.
“[He] could be pitching in the eighth inning in a tie ballgame because of where we’re at that day bullpen-wise,” Mendoza said. “We’ll try our best to give him enough time to get ready when we call his name. Obviously, the back-to-back is something that – he's never done it. So it'll be fluid.
“But what I told him was, we need him to be honest with us too. Like if he needs an extra day, he's got to let us know. So the recovery and how we're going to use it is still fluid.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
