NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs aren’t the only team signing a starting pitcher to a surprisingly sizable two-year deal.
The Cubs are signing Matthew Boyd to a two-year, $29 million deal, and the New York Mets are signing Frankie Montas to a two-year, $34 million deal with an opt out in the middle:
Quick reaction to both deals: good lord this tier of starting pitching is expensive!
Montas, 31, was once a promising young pitcher with the Oakland A’s, interspersing health issues with some huge seasons. After a trade to the Yankees in mid-2022, however, the injury issues really accelerated and his performance has been ugly (5.12 ERA over 38 games and 191.2 innings).
Yet he’s getting a two-year, $34 million deal with an opt out in the middle! Good gravy. Depth starting pitching with a little big of bounce-back upside is QUITE expensive, eh? Of these two deals, I’m thinking I’d rather roll the dice on Boyd.
As for the Mets, they had a number of outgoing starting pitchers, so regardless of what else they do in free agency, they needed innings. I totally get why they may have felt some urgency to land a guy like Montas ASAP after the starting pitching market started moving. I am just taken aback by the price tag. I mean, MLBTR projected him at two years and $22 million. FanGraphs had him at two years and $34 million. Massive difference. Usually the projections aren’t THAT far off on guys in this tier.
