With Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea all entering free agency, it was no secret that the New York Mets would be active in the free agency market this offseason to acquire starting players.

And the Mets’ first big move to fill the gaps in their rotation came on Sunday when ESPN told MLB insider Jeff Passan. According to ESPN, the 31-year-old Montas threw 150.2 innings with a 4.84 ERA last year at Cincinnati and Milwaukee Mets’ new rotation.”

The Mets’ signing of Montas is an intriguing move in several ways. Although he has never been an MLB All-Star, Montas finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 2021 after posting a 13-9 record, 3.37 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 187 for the Oakland Athletics innings pitched.

Montas was traded to the New York Yankees on August 1, 2022. However, his tenure with New York’s other team never really got off the ground as he was traded to the Yankees with a shoulder injury that ultimately caused him to miss much of 2022 and almost all of the 2023 regular season.

While acquiring Montas certainly helps the Mets address their starting player deficiencies, it is highly unlikely that David Stearns and the front office expect him to be their star in 2025, as he has tended to do so in the past has evolved into a mid-rotation arm in a few seasons.

Therefore, Mets fans can expect their team to still try to sign a bona fide star like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried this winter.