The big names in free agency are all off the board, and spring training is now well underway, but there are still 81 MLB players seeking new teams who remain unsigned. This is the pool of talent, albeit sometimes marginal talent, from which teams will look to fill holes created by spring training injuries.
The New York Mets opened spring training with renewed optimism following a memorable offseason that included the signing of Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract and the re-signing of first baseman Pete Alonso to a two-year, $54 million pact.
However, some of that optimism was dashed on Monday when another free agent signing, right-handed starting pitcher Frankie Montas, was sidelined with what was described as a high-grade lat strain, or a painful rupture of the latissimus dorsi muscle, which is the broadest muscle in the back and extends from the hip to the top of the shoulder joint.
Montas will now have to wait between six and eight weeks before he can throw again. The date he will return to major league competition is unknown. As a result, the Mets appear likely to dip into that pool of 81 unsigned free agents, looking for a hurler who can serve as at least a stopgap for the Mets’ starting rotation which, according to Danny Abriano of Mets cable television network SNY, “was probably the biggest question mark surrounding the team.”
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One “strong backend option for the Mets,” Matthew Legros of Empire Sports Media reported on Tuesday, might be 34-year-old southpaw Alex Wood, a 12-year veteran who spent 2024 with the Oakland Athletics.
