Either the Mets can no longer afford the black mail or the front office cannot admit they were wrong.  Other than those two scenarios it is hard to fathom why Rafael Montero is still with the major league team.

In 12 appearances, Montero is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA and a 2.520 WHIP.  He has entered four games this season with the scored tied, and he has allowed the opposition to take the lead in three of those game.  He has allowed a run in seven of his five appearances.  He has allowed two plus runs in four of those appearances.

The more you break it down, the worse things are for Montero.  He is walking 7.6 batters per nine innings, and he’s allowing 15.1 hits per nine.   Batters are hitting .378/.478/.500 off of him.  Basically speaking, when Montero actually does throw a strike, he’s not fooling anyone.  Montero makes every hitter look like Mike Trout.

It’s no wonder Terry Collins doesn’t trust him.  That creates another problem.  When the Mets are ahead in games by big margins, Collins does not go to Montero.  Instead, he will try to patchwork his bullpen to bring them to the finish line with the lead.  This is a major reason why the bullpen has been overworked. Jerry Blevins is on pace for 98 appearances. Addison Reed and Fernando Salas are on pace for 87 appearances.  It may also have been a reason why Hansel Robles went from a 1.42 ERA to a 6.23 ERA and a demotion to the minors.  Robles was replaced on the roster by Josh Smoker, who had also suffered under a heavy workload and was previously demoted to the minors.

With respect to Smoker and Robles, they have more than earned their respective demotions.  They needed to go down to Triple-A not just to get themselves straight, but for someone to ease off their workload.  Their respective demotions beg the question as to why Montero is still up with this team.  He’s pitching worse than either Robles or Smoker did.  His mere presence on the roster has led to the overuse of more valuable relievers.  When he does actually get into games, he leaves the Mets in a worse position than he found them.

Montero is really hurting this team, and yet this organization continues to stick by him.  It is unfathomable.  Sooner or later, someone needs to press this organization and find out why Montero is still a Met.