Mets' rotation has leaked oil all season long, now worse than ever
Frankie Montas of the Mets hands the ball to manager Carlos Mendoza as he is removed from a game in the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
On a Sunday when catcher-turned-reliever Luis Torrens was more competitive throwing 65-mph fastballs than Frankie Montas, a certified member of the Mets’ rotation, it’s no wonder the result was a 12-4 loss to the Giants before a boo-filled crowd of 42,876 at Citi Field.
But this was no ordinary exercise in humiliation, the kind of butt-kicking that’s routinely brushed off over the course of a 162-game schedule. It was an all-too-predictable breakdown caused by the same flashing red warning light on the Mets’ dashboard, the one that pertains to a rotation that’s been leaking oil all season, now worse than ever.
President of baseball operations David Stearns did a masterful job stacking his relief corps with high-leverage arms before Thursday’s trade deadline. But what good is an October-ready super-pen if it never sees the mound? And Sunday’s loss — the Mets’ fifth in six games — turned the focus back to the increasingly worrisome area Stearns failed to address: a starting staff that’s allergic to the fifth inning.
Montas isn’t the only offender, just the latest, and he barely made it as far as one out into the fifth on Sunday. He gave up seven runs and seven hits, including the 94-mph fastball he put on a tee for Rafael Devers’ three-run blast into the upper deck in the third.
In seven starts since his June 24 season debut, Montas has a 6.68 ERA and has averaged 4.76 innings. Does that sound like a top-five starter for a World Series contender?
Evidently, the Mets are beginning to ask the same question, because Carlos Mendoza didn’t exactly offer a strong vote of confidence after the game when asked about Montas continuing in his current role.
“We just got done with the game here,” he said. “He’s got to be better — he knows that.”
Montas has the security of the two-year, $34 million deal he signed in the offseason. But the Mets, who fell a half-game behind the NL East-leading Phillies, can’t afford to be keeping liabilities in the rotation on scholarship. Not if they intend to win on a fairly consistent basis as well as preserve their newly retooled bullpen for the September stretch run and presumably deep into October.
With plenty of regular season left, the Mets’ current starter/reliever balance does not feel sustainable here in early August. Since Montas’ return, the rotation has thrown the second-fewest innings (148 1⁄3) in the majors, averaging 4.49 innings.
Other than David Peterson, who’s averaged 6.06 innings, the others in the rotation don’t even touch the fifth regularly. Oddly, converted closer Clay Holmes has been the next-most-reliable starter at 4.90 innings (though he’s shown signs of fading recently). Purported ace Kodai Senga got dinged for four runs Saturday and had to be pulled after four innings as Mendoza used five relievers in a 12-6 win.
But those are supposed to be emergencies. Going to the bullpen phone that often is not a long-term strategy for success. The Mets have 50 games left, and you can’t blame Mendoza for getting antsy about navigating the next two months with this current usage pace.
“It’s a tough spot,” he said. “It starts with the starting pitching. We were able to match up [Saturday] and ended up winning the game. But back-to-back games, that’s almost impossible.”
Translation: Mendoza felt he had little choice but to stick with Montas longer than he probably should have after watching the Giants cuff him around in the third and fourth innings. By the time he did pull him after a leadoff walk to Matt Chapman in the fifth, the Mets trailed 7-1 and again were doing zippo against a lefty starter, changeup specialist Carson Whisenhunt.
“The season’s not over,” Montas said. “There’s a lot of room to improve. Definitely working to get better. I’m gonna keep trying.”
Trying isn’t good enough after what Stearns just pulled off to improve this team’s World Series chances. The Mets are in the results-driven part of their schedule now, and if Montas can’t carry his weight, they’ll have to consider other options.
Stearns has suggested that he eventually could tap into Triple-A Syracuse for Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat.
“We believe in the guys we got here,” Mendoza said. “I know they’re capable. They’ve shown before that they will. It’s a good feeling to know you’ve got pieces down in Triple-A, but in the meantime, these guys right here are the ones that are going to take us to the next level.”
But on Sunday, Montas wasn’t a bridge to the super-pen. He took the Mets right off a cliff instead. That can’t continue.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
