It's time for changes to the Mets rotation...
Frankie Montas got shelled again and the Mets dropped their second straight series and they're losers of 5 of their last 6 games
Happy Monday, Mets fans. The latest episode of The Just Mets Podcast is now available! Become a paid subscriber on Substack or Patreon for exclusive access & additional bonus content…
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were thrashed by the Giants, 12-4, in the rubber game of their weekend series (box)
RHP Frankie Montas started for the Mets and got lit up once again, surrendering seven earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in just four innings
RHP Adam Warren did yeomen work in the middle of the game, tossing four scoreless innings to save most of the rest of the bullpen
C Francisco Álvarez had two hits and drove in a pair of runs in the loss
SS Francisco Lindor hit his 21st home run of the season in the first inning
3B Mark Vientos extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double in his final at-bat
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Adam Warren recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Rico García designated for assignment
Who’s Cold 🥶
Mets starting pitchers have a 5.01 ERA over their last 43 games, and are averaging 4.5 IP per start during that span
RHP Ryne Stanek had a nightmarish series against the Giants, surrendering an eye-opening six earned runs in only 1.2 innings of work
RHP Frankie Montas has a 6.68 ERA this season - he has allowed four earned runs or more in four of his first seven starts
Over his last 17 games, OF Juan Soto is just 8-for-59 with 12 walks and 22 strikeouts
Play of the Game 🌟
This game wasn’t exactly a game for very long, and the biggest blow predictably came pretty early in the contest. With the game tied 1-1 in the 3rd inning, Frankie Montas served up a three-run gopher ball to San Francisco slugger Rafael Devers that put the Giants ahead for good.
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Jack Wenninger (No. 11 Prospect, Double-A): 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K
CF Carson Benge (No. 4 Prospect, Double-A: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
IF/OF A.J. Ewing (No. 8 Prospect, High-A): 3-for-5, K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (63-49) vs. Guardians (56-55)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Slade Cecconi (5-4, 3.77 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Mets rotation issues are calling for immediate changes… ✍️
Welp, that was less than ideal.
After a trade deadline in which the Mets undoubtedly assembled a dominant bullpen and fortified center field, questions—to put it lightly— still remained about the club’s rotation.
Right now, the Mets feel good when David Peterson, Sean Manaea, and Kodai Senga take the mound—though as Drew wrote yesterday, Senga hasn’t exactly been himself for several outings now.
Beyond that, however, this starting staff is inspiring little to no confidence at the moment.
Look no further than this glaring stat - Mets starting pitchers have a 5.01 ERA over their last 43 games, and are averaging 4.5 IP per start during that span. That isn’t acceptable and won’t get the Mets to October at this rate, nor would they deserve to be there for that matter.
Their two big offseason additions, Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas, are rounding out the rotation, though both have different areas of concern.
Holmes, attempting to make the jump from late-inning reliever to starter in 2025, was very good early in the year, but as his innings total has climbed, his effectiveness has dipped.
He’s struggling to go deep in games and has been one of the main culprits that has contributed to an overly used Mets bullpen.
Then there’s Montas, who started on Sunday, and there’s no sugarcoating it, he was downright awful.
In four disappointing innings, the veteran righty allowed seven earned runs, raising his season ERA to 6.68. He’s now given up 12 runs in his last 8.1 innings and has not made it through six innings in any of his outings.
The Mets were certainly in the market for starting pitching help at the deadline, and while they may or may not have been interested in Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Minnesota’s Joe Ryan, those guys ultimately were not traded. David Stearns and company made the decision that the other available arms were not necessarily impactful enough upgrades over what they already had internally, and you could argue that decision will decide how this season ends for New York.
The wildcard here is that a large part of the calculus that went into that decision likely did not include just the presence of Montas, Holmes, or even the currently injured Tylor Megill.
I think the Mets know their starter in a potential Game Four of a playoff series is not currently on the Major League roster, but that doesn’t mean he’s not currently in the organization. And that starter might be needed to help them get through this pennant race successfully starting right now, even if such expectations might be unfair.
I mean, they didn’t get a starting pitcher last week, so what choice do they have but to call upon one of their prospects and simply hope they can help here? They created this problem themselves even if the prices for starting pitching was high before the trade deadline. They’re the ones who constructed this rotation, they’re the ones who decided the status quo was fine, they’re the ones who said it wasn’t a high priority for them to fix last week.
So, after months of being hesitant to promote the team’s top pitching prospects, you’d have to believe things are coming to a head here soon. Things can’t continue the way they’re going - its time for a change.
After a terrible start to his Triple-A season, righty Brandon Sproat has figured it out in Syracuse, and has been phenomenal across his last six starts. In those outings, dating back to the end of June, Sproat has allowed just two earned runs in 33 innings—and both of those came in the same game. Not allowing a single run in five of his last six outings has certainly raised some eyebrows, and it will only get harder for the Mets to hold off on promoting him as the stretch run gets deeper.
The same can also be said for fellow righty Nolan McLean, who has been absolutely dominant all season long. In 19 outings across Double-A and Triple-A, he’s pitched to a stellar 2.60 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP in 104 innings.
Sproat and McLean have undoubtedly been involved in internal conversations about how to improve the back part of the starting rotation, and at some point—likely soon—the Mets simply have to find out what they have in the duo.
About a month from now, discussions will only pick up about how to assemble the best pitching staff for the postseason, and it would clearly behoove the club to have seen their youngsters up close and personal before determining if they can be factors or not.
And honestly, could they really be worse than what we watched on Sunday afternoon?
Around the League 🚩
Yoshinobu Yamamoto fired 5.2 scoreless innings and earned his 10th win in the Dodgers 3-0 blanking of Tampa Bay
Brice Turang hit two home runs in the Brewers 14-3 thrashing of the Nationals
After not being dealt at the trade deadline, Marlins’ righty Edward Cabrera was dominant against the Yankees, allowing just a run on two hits across six innings in Miami’s 7-3 home win
Justin Turner blasted a walk-off home run to give the Cubs a 5-3 win against Baltimore
RHP Jacob deGrom was uncharacteristically human on Sunday, serving up three homers and giving up five runs in five innings in the Rangers 5-4 loss to the Mariners
Joel Sherman had a great piece today in the Post about the “theory” of Montas and it was spot on. I screamed when the Mets signed this slug. In theory his stuff plays but when you add the numbers up this guy should be in AAA or in the Mexican league. He has been horrible for years now. This only shows the numbers when he has been healthy which has been his other issue. The Mets seem that they are going to “die on this hill” with the rotation they assembled and from what I see they don’t even make the playoffs with how it’s gone since July hit. I’m longing for the days of Griffin Canning for God’s sake! I’m even seeking Paul Blackburn right now. Anyone but Montas. If they keep running out 4 inning starters this season will slip away fast. The gloves need to come off with Manaea and Senga. They need to go 100+ pitches regardless of what’s going on. The rehab has been done and this slow walking shit needs to end. Snell for the Dodgers came back and his first start went 86 pitches. The rate this staff is going every arm in the pen will be long dead by September. DFA Stanek PLEASE! This isn’t a playoff team right now and I concur deservedly so!
I do not see a way for the Mets to be successful with a starting staff of no more than 2 1/2. At this point bring up the kids, and they could do no worse than what goes to the mound after Peterson and Manea. Stroman would even be an improvement and might have motivation to prove the Yankees wrong. For a team expecting to contend this is ridiculous.