There goes Frankie

Morning Dose: Tuesday, February 18

☀️ Good Morning:

It wouldn’t be baseball season without injuries.

Behind all the smiles and introductory press conferences and reports of players being in the best shape of their lives, there are always cracks beneath the surface.

The first major crack of the 2025 season comes in the form of a high-grade right lateral strain.

Frankie Montas, who signed a two-year, $34 million “prove it” deal at the start of the offseason, has been shutdown from throwing for 6-to-8 weeks. Since he will require time to ramp up from there, that means he will be missing from the rotation until at least May.

Mets fans who know better than to believe initial injury timelines are warranted in telling their friends that means he could be out until June.

Blake has been pushing for Jose Quintana to return to Queens, even before this injury. The time might be right for the front office to pick up the phone.

We have plenty to talk about in relation to Montas, Pete Alonso meeting with the media, and a new SNY subscription streaming offering.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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♻️ Replacing Montas

On balance, losing Montas to an injury on February 17 isn’t the worst news in the world.

• His 6-to-8 week recovery time would allow him to start throwing again in late March or early April.

• With four off days in the first month of the season, the Mets could manage extra rest for their starters without an extra arm.

• And they could easily keep a six-man rotation with a healthy Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning. Technically, there was already a logjam of starters since both Blackburn and Canning are out of minor-league option years.

What about Megill?

The name most often overlooked in talking about the rotation is Tylor Megill.

The 29-year-old had an impressive finish to the 2024 season, pitching to a 2.45 ERA over his final six starts, while striking out 38 batters and walking 11. There has never been a question if Megill has good enough stuff, his success is tied to his ability to channel it into an effective routine that lasts throughout the season.

“He’s got to stay on the attack,” Mendoza said last week of Megill. “He’s got to get ahead, put hitters away and limit damage. It’s always that one inning that gets away from him, it comes with experience. The good thing is the stuff is there.”

Megill has one minor-league option year remaining, providing the front office with flexibility to move him between Triple-A and the majors when needed. That plays into the formula for where he might find himself early in the season.

What about Blackburn and Canning?

The rotation was a concern before Montas got injured. It is far from a strength. We still don’t know what Kodai Senga is going to provide. Clay Holmes is transitioning to a starting role, which could have some hiccups along the way. Sean Manaea is coming off a season in which he threw a career-high 181.2 innings and pitched deep into the playoffs. Which David Peterson will arrive this season? And no version of the tall left-hander has made more than 21 starts in a season.

So, yeah, the Amazins have depth pieces in Blackburn and Canning, but it’s hard to feel inspired by those options when they stand behind a fragile group and one is recovering from a spinal injury, while the other had one of the highest starting-pitcher ERAs in baseball last season.