Mets' Frankie Montas Reportedly Will Miss 2026 with Surgery on Elbow Injury, Owed $17M

The New York Mets will be without one of their starters for the entirety of the 2026 season.

Per the New York Post's Jon Heyman, Frankie Montas has a torn UCL that requires surgery. Heyman noted that the injury will likely require the full Tommy John surgery, which would sideline Montas for all of next year.

Montas has a $17 million player option for the 2026 season, which he will presumably exercise this offseason.

Montas last pitched on Aug. 15 against the Seattle Mariners, where he went just two innings, giving up three hits, two walks and a run on 44 pitches. The team shut him down for the rest of the season over the weekend.

Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that they warmed Montas up for a game against the Washington Nationals last week, but ended up not using him. After that, he reported some pain in his bicep.

"We got him hot [during] that last game in D.C, and he obviously didn't come in to pitch," Mendoza said. "[On Friday] he came in and expressed some soreness in the lower biceps area. He went out and played catch and we decided to send him for an MRI that shows the UCL injury."

While Mendoza wasn't initially aware of the torn UCL, he said he knew it was a serious injury and hinted at the possibility of Tommy John surgery.

"He's got a pretty significant injury there," Mendoza said. "We [have] multiple doctors looking at it to see what we're [dealing with]. The first MRI read showed he's got a pretty good injury there. [Tommy John surgery] is possible."

Montas signed with the Mets ahead of the 2025 season and hoped to revive his career in New York, but struggled in his nine starts, going 3-2 with a 6.28 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.

Now, rather than putting together a bounce-back year in 2026, the 32-year-old will have to spend his season rehabbing.