New York Mets starting pitcher Frankie Montas, who suffered an elbow injury in August, will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of 2025 and all of 2026, according to a report from the New York Post.
Montas last pitched on August 15 against the Seattle Mariners, just three days after manager Carlos Mendoza announced he would move to the bullpen. He gave up one run over two innings of work and hit the injured list a week later after being diagnosed with a UCL tear in his right elbow.
The Post reports that Montas' “full-blown” Tommy John surgery will require a 12-14-month recovery. He finishes his season with a 6.28 ERA and a 1.603 WHIP in nine appearances (seven starts).
“It’s hard for him,” Mendoza said when Montas first went on the IL, per MLB.com. “It’s been a hard year for him since Spring Training when he went down and put a lot of time and rehab in. He came back and didn’t have the results he wanted, [or] we wanted. For him to have a hard time recovering after the last two outings, it just sucks for him.”
Mendoza added that the injury could have played a role in Montas' lackluster performance.
“The [injury] probably has something to do with the past [outings],” he said. “The [velocity] was there, but maybe having an injury affected him with his secondary pitches. He didn’t feel anything. It was just more soreness the last couple of times.”
Overall, Montas' career hasn't been the same since the Athletics traded him to the New York Yankees at the 2022 trade deadline. He pitched to a 6.35 ERA down the stretch for the Yankees that year and has not seemed to regain his footing amid stints with the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and Mets.
As for the Mets, they're coming off a tough 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday — their third-straight defeat. They still hold a three-game lead over the San Francisco Giants for the final National League wild card spot.
