After a solid 2023 with a 4.48 ERA in 30 starts for the Reds and the Brewers and delivered 148 strikeouts across 150 2/3 innings, he, in 2024, transformed his performance in a two-year and 34 million dollars deal with the Mets. That deal also came with a player option for 2026.

The Mets added him to their roster with the hope of getting an elite middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starter. However, that hope quickly faded away as, “Frankie Montas has exercised his $17 million player option for 2026. He is expected to miss the entire season while he recovers from elbow surgery”.

Montas had been inconsistent since joining the team. He was unable to make his debut in this season until June because of his late strain. Montas also posted a 6.68 ERA in 7 starts and then he was moved to the bullpen.

After getting there, Frankie Montas made 2 more appearances for the Mets, then, in August, he was shut down due to a UCL injury in his right elbow. So, in those 9 appearances, he got a 6.28 ERA and allowed 11.2 hits per nine innings. Montas also surrendered 8 home runs, and in 38 ⅔ innings, he gave up 14 walks. His choice to exercise the player option was a part of the team’s roster moves announced on Tuesday.

Montas’ salary will definitely affect the Mets’ CBT threshold, which is why this news is bittersweet for fans; some are considering him the “Greatest heist” in the team’s history.

Now, fans have taken to social media to criticize the star for his decision.

Fans erupt as Montas Opt-In sparks outrage across the Mets universe

A quick reaction from a fan was, “Greatest heist I’ve ever seen.” That reaction summed up the growing sentiment among fans against Montas. For some, Montas taking that much amount for the next season, where he will not play, looks like a robbery in broad daylight. After just appearing in 9 games since joining the team, the fans’ frustration was not able.

Another fan said, “$34 million for 9 appearances in two years. This is worse than the Jason Bay contract.” When Montas is compared with the Jason Bay deal, then things are really noticeable. Bay got Jason Bay with 66 million dollars over four seasons to patrol left field in 2010. However, as per Bleahers report, “Bay has yet to eclipse 20 home runs and 80 RBI in a season as a Met. He was paid to hit home runs, drive in RBI, and give David Wright better protection in the lineup. Instead, he has looked lost at the plate quite often, suffered a concussion that ended his 2010 season, and has endured the Citi Field boo birds”. However, fans are now saying Montas has surpassed Bay.

Another supporter puts the emotional core of the outrage. He stated, “Frankie Montas elects to be paid more than most people will make in a lifetime to not work. Must be nice!” Fans are not furious only about the performance; instead, they are mad at the optics. A 17 million USD paycheck in a year for no innings pitched looks like an insult to a fanbase that has watched the franchise cut costs elsewhere. Since Steve Cohen purchased the franchise in 2020, every offseason of the Mets has proven full of puzzles. This one should be no different, with Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz approaching free agency, and New York looking to bolster what proved to be a defective roster in 2025. And, at this time, spending that much money on Montas hits a nerve. 

Not all supporters were emotional; some performed calculations. One Mets fan said, “Stearns will file a claim and get most of this covered by insurance… about $13.6M they could have to sign a replacement.” If the Mets receive that usual 50% to 80% insurance recovery on long-term injury absences, they could return approximately 14 million, giving them actual flexibility to pursue a replacement arm.

“Is he the worst ever acquisition for the Mets?” one fan wrote. The harshest take, and the one that might gain traction if Montas never redeems himself. But he may take the lead simply because he arrived with great hopes and produced almost nothing in return. If he never throws another pitch in New York, the legacy writes itself.

Frankie Montas was acquired to solidify the middle of the Mets’ rotation, but instead, his two-year run may be remembered as the financial disaster in the clubhouse’s history. A 34 million USD deal had produced only 9 appearances, one year on the injured list, and now a guaranteed season on the sidelines. Whether insurance money heals the wounds or not, the emotional damage among the fanbase is already done, and until the top management finds a true replacement, this decision will cast a long shadow over the franchise’s offseason.