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New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea

The highly anticipated return of a starting pitcher from injury would normally be cause for celebration. Two key starters returning might have most fan bases dancing in the streets. 

But for followers of the New York Mets , the recent news surrounding rehabbing pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas has been anything but optimistic. 

Both pitchers opened the season on the injured list . Montas – who signed a two-year, $36 million deal with the Mets during the offseason – suffered a severe lat strain at the start of spring training. Manaea – who re-signed with the Mets in December 2024 on a three-year, $75 million deal after going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in his lone season in Queens – arrived in spring training with a right oblique issue that proved worse than initially thought. 

The two of them recently started rehab assignments – Montas on May 24 and Manaea on June 6  – but neither has done a thing to build a positive case for returning to the major league level anytime soon. 

Fans React Harshly to Rehab Outings by Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea

In his five appearances – two for High-A Brooklyn, three for Triple-A Syracuse – Montas has given up 16 runs in 9.1 innings for an ERA of 13.17, allowing 19 hits, seven of them homers, and nine walks with 10 strikeouts. In his most recent outing Friday, Montas gave up eight runs on seven hits and a walk in just 1.2 innings. 

As would be expected, fan reactions to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by SNY TV of the 32-year-old’s final line against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre were not positive. 

“You have to be concerned at this point” one respondent understated . 

“So he’ll slot in well as the Mets #2 starter” another sarcastically responded . 

“Hope to be proven wrong, but this is one of those signings that almost the entire fanbase said right away, why?,” a third surmised . “The “lab” has their work cut out for them on this one.” 

Manaea has been just about as inspiring in his three starts. With High-A Brooklyn, the 33-year-old left-hander has allowed eight runs, seven of them earned, in 6.2 innings (9.45). He has given up 11 hits and three walks with eight strikeouts, and in his latest outing on Sunday against Asheville, Manaea allowed four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings, with two walks and two strikeouts. 

Comments to SNY TV’s post with those numbers voiced a similar tone . 

“Did the pitching lab catch on fire or something” one asked . 

“Yikes. Getting crushed by single A players” another lamented . 

Some even referenced the poor pitching performances while getting swept by Tampa Bay to take a “sky is falling” view of the overall situation. 

“The Mets went from the best team in the league to I’m not even sure this team is making the playoffs in four days,” one cried . “I’m not joking.” 

“Watching Canning, Megill and Blackburn is beyond depressing,” another wailed . “The thought of Montas in this rotation in a week does not make me feel better. And Manaea not looking much better. I think this rotation is in big trouble. The 1st half honeymoon is over and now the cracks are showing.” 

Frankie Montas Willing to Pitch Out of Bullpen: ‘I Just Want to Help’

Montas, who is scheduled to make one more rehab start, said he is more concerned with how he feels than how his numbers look, and reports there sound good. 

“This rehab process was actually pretty good,” he said. “They did an amazing job on my lat. This is probably, I’ll say, the strongest my shoulder and arm has felt in a while.”  

While he is anxious to finally pitch for the Mets, Montas is aware of how well the team’s starters have done this season. New York’s starters lead all of MLB with a 2.93 ERA, and Montas said he is absolutely willing to pitch out of the bullpen if that’s how he can best serve the team. 

“Whatever they tell me to do, that is what I am going to do,” Montas said. “I just want to help. 

“That’s the biggest thing for me. That’s what is kind of killing me. Not being able to be help. Obviously the team is doing pretty good. But I am the type of guy, I like to do my part.” 

Manaea is several more rehab starts and a couple weeks behind Montas. Despite his latest outing, Manaea did pitch 2.2 shutout innings in his previous start on June 10. The Mets anxiously await his next start, likely this weekend. 

Dave Benson Dave Benson is a longtime writer with over three decades of experience in a variety of mediums, including 15 years covering high school, collegiate and minor league sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dave is also a licensed English teacher and spent a few years teaching at the middle school level. More about Dave Benson