Mets Notes: Frankie Montas to make fifth rehab start Friday, Sean Manaea slated to pitch Sunday

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza shared injury updates on a pair of veteran starting pitchers before Wednesday’s game against the Nationals at Citi Field. Here’s what he said…

Frankie Montas

The Mets aren’t ready to add the veteran right-hander (lat strain) to their active roster just yet. He’s scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, in what’ll be the fifth start of his rehab assignment.

It may not be Montas’ final rehab appearance, either — Mendoza said they could utilize the entire 30-day rehab window to build up his workload even further.

Montas’ overall results in the minors haven’t exactly been uplifting. While he’s reached higher pitch counts and avoided setbacks, he owns a glaring 9.00 ERA across 12 total innings between Syracuse and High-A Brooklyn. In his most recent outing last Thursday, he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 3.2 innings.

Mendoza said pitching coach Jeremy Hefner has discussed mechanics with Montas, but the team isn’t bothered by the pitching lines he’s produced. He’s in the midst of shaking off plenty of rust.

“This is kind of like spring training for him, and hitters now are in midseason form, you know?” Mendoza said. “It’s hard to put too much into it, where you’re not gameplanning and just going out there. I think we’ve got to do a better job of that, preparing him and giving him a little bit of an idea. But as far as the results and all that, we’re not too concerned right now.”

Sean Manaea

While it’s still unclear where the veteran left-hander (oblique) will make his next rehab start, Mendoza said the plan is for him to pitch again on Sunday.

Manaea spent Tuesday night with High-A Brooklyn, striking out four with one hit, one walk, and one hit-by-pitch allowed across 2.2 scoreless frames (46 pitches, 31 strikes). Call his second rehab outing progress, considering he gave up four runs (three earned) in 1.2 innings last Friday.

The Mets’ rotation has performed exceptionally well without Manaea this season, but the team is eagerly awaiting his return. In 32 starts for New York in 2024, the 33-year-old southpaw posted a 3.47 ERA with 184 punchouts across 181.2 innings.