Mets have ‘decision’ to make after Frankie Montas’ next rehab start; Mark Vientos nears rehab assignment

Frankie Montas says he feels fine physically.

For the Mets right-hander, that’s the most important takeaway through five starts in his rehab assignment for a strained right lat.

But the results on the field have been less encouraging.

Montas struggled again on Friday night with Triple-A Syracuse, surrendering eight runs in 1.2 innings against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He now owns a 13.17 ERA over 13.2 innings with High-A Brooklyn and Triple-A Syracuse.

“Tough start, but I felt pretty good,” Montas, 32, said Saturday at Citi Field. “The ball is coming out good. Just working on a couple things that I need to work on.”

The Mets hoped Montas would throw 80 to 85 pitches during Friday’s start against the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, but he threw only 53 before he was lifted with two outs in the second inning.

Montas said he “would’ve loved to get more pitches in,” but manager Carlos Mendoza said leaving the right-hander in the game would have put him at risk. Montas threw 32 pitches in the second inning alone.

The Mets expect Montas to make one more rehab start at Triple-A, but they have not determined whether he will be a starter or a reliever when he joins the major-league roster.

“We haven’t made that decision yet,” Mendoza said. “He’s got one more, and then we’re going to have to make a decision there.”

Montas allowed seven hits and a walk in Friday’s start, and he also hit a batter. The two-run home run struck by Brennen Davis was the seventh homer Montas has allowed during his rehab stint.

Hitters are batting .371 against Montas during his rehab assignment. Montas has yet to throw more than 76 pitches in a start.

“I wouldn’t say ‘concern,’ because physically he says he’s fine,” Mendoza said. “If there was something physically wrong then you’d say, ‘OK, there’s some concern here.’ It’s more mechanics and things like that.

“As he continues to get reps, we’re hoping that we start seeing better results, but as far as physically, he’s in a good place.”

The Mets signed Montas in the offseason to a two-year, $34 million contract, envisioning him as part of a rotation that lost Luis Severino and Jose Quintana from last year’s staff.

Right shoulder issues — which ultimately resulted in surgery — limited Montas to eight appearances with the Yankees from 2022-23, but he made 30 starts last season with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.

Montas, who had a 4.84 ERA last year, was diagnosed with the lat strain during spring training, and he’s yet to appear in the majors this season.

He said Saturday that he feels “pretty good” and that this is probably the strongest his arm and shoulder have felt “in a while.”

“I want to help, man,” Montas said. “I want to help. That’s the biggest thing for me. That’s what’s killing me, not being able to help. Obviously, the team is doing pretty good, but I’m the type of guy who likes to do my part.”

Asked what he expects his role to be when he returns, Montas said, “Whatever they tell me to do, that’s what I’m going to do.”

ON THE MARK

Mark Vientos is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse in the coming week, with Mendoza mentioning Tuesday or Wednesday as possibilities.

The third baseman has been on the injured list with a right hamstring strain since June 3.

“He ran [Friday] up to 90%,” Mendoza said. “He’s a full-go as far as hitting [and] taking ground balls.”

Vientos is hitting .230 with six home runs in 53 games this season.

MORE MANAEA

Sean Manaea (oblique) is set to make his third rehab start on Sunday. The left-hander has a 6.23 ERA after two starts with High-A Brooklyn, but he hurled 2.2 scoreless innings over 46 pitches in his last outing.

“Where he’s at in his rehab process, I think it’s just more how he’s feeling afterwards,” Mendoza said. “He continues to throw strikes. I think at this point, as he’s increasing his pitch count, it’s just, ‘How is he going to feel the next few days?’ But he’s still earlier on in that process.”

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