The New York Mets' starting rotation is off to a hot start this season despite the fact that they are currently not at full strength as a unit due to injuries.
Their two injured starters include Frankie Montas (lat strain) and Sean Manaea (oblique strain), who both got hurt in the beginning of spring training back in February.
Manaea, who suffered a setback and was shut down from throwing three weeks ago, was seen playing catch at Citi Field on Tuesday. As was Montas, who president of baseball operations David Stearns provided an update on the previous day.
David Stearns says that Frankie Montas is still on pace to return in late-May or early-June: pic.twitter.com/WGkyP1xTc4
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 21, 2025
As Stearns told reporters, Montas is throwing between 75-90 feet. The right-hander remains on track to return to the Mets' big-league rotation by late-May or early-June, which was his initial timeline after going down with his injury in February.
The Mets signed Montas to a two-year, $34 million deal in the offseason to replace last year's bounce-back starter Luis Severino. Montas has been hit hard by the injury bug in recent seasons, besides 2024, and this campaign has been no different so far.
The good news is that if Montas can avoid having any setbacks in his rehab then he will be available to pitch in the Mets' rotation for the majority of the regular season after missing the first few months of the year.
In the meantime, the Mets' staff has been led by Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning, all of whom have done a superb job in the early portion of the season. The Mets enter play against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday with an MLB-leading 2.31 ERA as a starting rotation.
Once Montas and Manaea are able to return to the majors, the Mets' rich pitching staff will only get richer, barring any future injuries.
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