The New York Mets were supposed to be the team to beat. With a $325 million payroll and a stacked lineup of stars, the expectations weren’t just high—they were sky-high. But after a rather humiliating loss of 12-1 to the low-budget Pittsburgh Pirates, the reality is settling in, and it’s not pretty. The sweep in Pittsburgh wasn’t just another series loss—it was a full-blown alarm bell.

The Mets were outscored 30-4 across the three games by the Pirates. Also, this is the same team that Spotrac says has a payroll of $90 million. Let that sink in for a while. And now, after going 3-13 in their last 16 games, the Mets’ once elite 45-24 record from mid-June is fading into a distant memory. The offense is sputtering, the pitching is basically collapsing, and fans are getting fed up.

Even Mets owner Steve Cohen didn’t shy away from expressing his frustrations on X. “Tough stretch, no sugarcoating it. I didn’t see this coming. I’m as frustrated as everybody else,” he wrote, before saying, “We will get through this period… Keep the faith!” But faith only goes so far when your big-money rotation is falling apart, starting with Frankie Montas.

Now the $34 million pitcher, making his second start of the season, was shelled for six runs in just four innings. He had missed the start of the year due to an injury and was supposed to bring stability to the team, but he offered disaster. Insiders Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti didn’t hold back talking about Montas’s outing. “There’s something really wrong with him. He got crushed, just like in the minors. I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut him down,” Esiason said bluntly. And he is not wrong.

Montas didn’t look healthy, confident, or effective even. The Pirates just jumped on him early with a five-run first inning that was capped by two home runs. While he managed five strikeouts, he gave up seven hits and handed the game to an already very overworked bullpen. And this sweep followed a reported team meeting, which was led by Francisco Lindor and Nimmo.

But if it was supposed to light a fire under the team, sadly, it didn’t. And what makes the meltdown sting even more is how far the New York Mets have fallen. Just a few weeks ago, Citi Field was a fortress, and now it looks disorganized and, frankly, out of answers. Team meetings, speeches, and ownership tweets aside, one thing is clear: if the Mets want to avoid turning this slump into a season-defining collapse, something has to change, and also fast.

Frankie Montas comes clean as New York Mets’ rotation crisis deepens

After Sunday’s collapse, Frankie Montas didn’t hide. He stepped up to speak with the reporters and owned at least part of the mess. He said he felt he was throwing pretty good pitches but admitted that he was “missing his spots a little bit.” Now, these missing spots might not sound like a big deal, but they matter. And even Manager Carlos Mendoza also kept it pretty real.

When asked about what went wrong with Frankie Montas, especially given he had a strong outing with the Braves, he didn’t hesitate. “I think a few things… couldn’t put hitters away, was having a hard time finishing hitters..And then the pitch to Cruz, I think it’s just more about pitch selection there. That’s not a good pitch. That’s a pitch he hammers. And then, obviously, same thing with Tommy,” said Mendoza without hesitating.

And he also pointed out how Montas got ahead of Ke’Bryan Hayes with two outs and two runners on but couldn’t close it. So it was not just poor execution; it was poor pitch selection too. And that is a hard pill to swallow, right?—given the Mets can’t afford many of these now. Injuries, after all, have shredded their rotation. Kodai Senga is dealing with a hamstring strain. Sean Manaea with an oblique strain. Taylor Megill has a right elbow injury, and now even Griffin Canning is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles.

So, given that the pressure was on guys like Montas to step up. But clearly he couldn’t; that magic right now for the Mets, sadly, seems to be dimming. Do you think so too?