The Mets have endured a difficult second half of the season, having lost seven games in a row and 11 of their last 12.
As the team's struggles continue to mount, manager Carlos Mendoza announced Tuesday that he'd be making a change to the starting rotation. Veteran right-hander Frankie Montas is no longer set to make his next scheduled start and will instead be pitching out of the bullpen for the foreseeable future, Mendoza told reporters.
The team hasn't officially decided on a replacement in the rotation for Montas. Mendoza indicated they'd been eyeing Noah McLean and Brandon Sproat, two of the organization's top pitching prospects, as potential call-ups, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. McLean is the No. 3 prospect in New York's farm, while Sproat is No. 5, per MLB Pipeline.
In 2025, Montas has made seven starts and eight total appearances. He has a career worst 6.38 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 12 walks in 36 2/3 innings. In his most recent outing, Saturday against the Brewers, Montas followed an opener and pitched three innings while surrendering three runs, though only one was earned.
The 32-year-old would've been in line to start Saturday against the Mariners, but instead it seems the team will look to one of its farmhands instead.
The BCCI has filed an official complaint against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan with the ICC for their on-field gestures during the Asia Cup Super Fours game in Dubai last Sunday. It is reliably learnt that the BCCI filed the complaint via an email on Wednesday, and the ICC is in receipt of it.In case Farhan and Rauf deny the allegations in writing, an ICC hearing could take place to address the matter for the hearing. They might have to appear before match referee Richie Richardson – the second match referee at the tournament, Andy Pycroft being the other.Farhan’s celebration after getting to his half-century and Rauf gesturing towards a section of fans while fielding at the boundary – the incidents the BCCI has complained about – have been all over social media since that day.Related
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“Let me first say, the amount of pressure that’s been heaped on the players because of the situation, it’s very difficult to control your behaviour,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Tuesday when asked about Haris’ provocative gestures.”I did see some of the things Haris did and that’s not our concern. Like I said earlier, we’re really proud of how the guys carried themselves. They fought fire with their bats on the field. Other teams may have had issues with some of the things we’ve done. But from our side, we’re proud of how the guys have carried themselves.”The PCB has also lodged an official complaint with the ICC against Suryakumar Yadav for the India captain dedicating the win over Pakistan in the first round, on September 14, to “the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack” in April this year, which led to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.”Want to dedicate the win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery. Hope they continue to inspire us all, and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile,” Suryakumar said in the presentation ceremony after that match, which made headlines for events before and after the match – the captains didn’t shake hands at the toss, the players didn’t greet each other after the match, and “handshakegate” has continued to be a subject of talk and debate at the Asia Cup ever since.The PCB has alleged that Suryakumar’s comments were “political”.Sunday’s Super Fours match, the second meeting between the two teams during the Asia Cup, witnessed several heated moments including exchanges between Pakistan quicks Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rauf and India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.
Ex-Somerset legend says concerns were raised about conditions that ‘reduced game to a farce’
Matt Roller23-Jul-2025
Lewis Gregory bats on a first-day pitch at Taunton that was showing clear signs of wear and tear before a ball was bowled•Getty Images
Lord Ian Botham, Durham’s honorary president, has slammed his former club Somerset for preparing an “appalling” pitch after 35 wickets fell in five sessions in the County Championship fixture between the two sides.Botham, the legendary England allrounder, spent most of his professional career with Somerset and was a key part of the club’s one-day success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He later joined Worcestershire and then Durham, and became the latter’s honorary president last year after serving a seven-year term as chairman.He accused his old county of reducing the Championship “to a farce” on Wednesday night after their five-wicket win over Durham by preparing a bright-green pitch on which 22 wickets fell to spinners. Jason Kerr, Somerset’s head coach, described the pitch as “an incredible surface” and said the volume of wickets owed to the quality of his bowlers.”As an ex-Somerset player, I find this appalling,” Botham wrote on X, alongside pictures of the pitch, which were taken before a ball was bowled. “Durham raised serious concerns the day before the game started… change is needed… both Somerset and Durham have high quality batsmen… Somerset do not need to do this… reduces the game to a farce.”Related
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Botham said that the pitch underlined why England have largely opted to ignore county averages in selection in recent years. “These are not first-class cricket conditions in midsummer,” he wrote. “I am not surprised that Rob [Key] and Ben [Stokes] unfortunately have to disregard county performance in assessing players for Test quality appearances.”He also said that the pitch undermined Somerset’s opposition to a proposed cut in the number of Championship fixtures per team from 14 to 12, which Durham support: “At a time when County Cricket is under pressure for relevance as a breeding ground for International Players and Somerset members have apparently voted for the status quo, the club produces this pitch.”Kerr, the Somerset coach, told the ECB Reporters Network: “There has been a lot of noise surrounding the pitch, but I thought it was an incredible surface. You can’t see 400 runs scored in a day, as happened yesterday, and then complain about the wicket.”We have to find a way of getting results here and, because there has been so much cricket at the ground this year, we had to prepare a used pitch. Craig [Overton] and Jack [Leach] exploited any help in it because they are top quality bowlers.”Somerset’s pitches have often attracted opprobrium. They were docked 12 points for the 2021 Championship season after preparing a pitch marked “poor” for their 2019 title decider against Essex, were warned after a two-day finish against Lancashire in 2018, and in 2017 were branded “a disgrace” by Angus Fraser after a relegation shoot-out against Middlesex.