Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Montas has begun throwing from 60 feet away. The right-hander will likely need a few bullpens and multiple rehab appearances before he’ll be ready to rejoin the Mets’ rotation at some point late in the spring, and that’s assuming no setbacks.

The Mets hope to have Montas back throwing in the first half of April and are aiming for a return to the rotation in late May or early June.

It’s a brutal blow for both Montas and the Mets. Montas will head to New York for a PRP injection now and hope the injury heals with time. Given Montas’ injury history, it would be likely that the Mets play it safe and shut him down closer to that eight-week mark, which means Montas won’t begin throwing again until the middle of April. It will take him time to ramp back up from that point, and the Mets will then want him to face live hitters in the minors for a few starts since he will have missed all of spring training. As a result, it would be safe to assume that we won’t see Montas on the mound for the Mets until June.

There’s no word yet on exactly what Montas is dealing with but this is a bit ominous. Even if it winds up being nothing major, being shut down for “a significant stretch” almost certainly means he won’t have time to ramp up and be ready for opening day. The Mets had talked about piggybacking their starters before to limit innings early in the season, and they may keep doing that; however, this could also open up the door for one of Griffin Canning, PaulBlackburn, or Tylor Megill to open the season in the rotation.