New York Mets right-hander Frankie Montas exercised his $17 million player option on Tuesday for the 2026 season, which he will miss while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Montas, 32, began his first season with the Mets on the 60-day injured list with a right lat strain and ended the campaign on the 60-day IL with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Signed to a two-year, $34 million contract last December, Montas made just nine appearances (seven starts) and finished the season in mid-August with a 3-2 record and a 6.28 ERA.

Montas is 47-48 with a 4.20 ERA in 169 career games (136 starts) with the Chicago White Sox (2015), then-Oakland Athletics (2017-22), New York Yankees (2022-23), Cincinnati Reds (2024), Milwaukee Brewers (2024) and Mets.

–Field Level Media