Oakland A’s trade possibility: Frankie Montas
Things were not looking great for Montas with the Oakland A’s after coming back from his PED suspension with a rough season in 2020, but he made great strides this past year. Returning to form in 2021 with 3.37 ERA and 3.61 FIP, his expected numbers line up well along with strong strikeout and walk rates.
The extra benefit with Montas and why he was not grouped with Bassitt and Manaea is the additional year of team control. I think this extra year could entice more teams to acquire him as they look to be more long-term contenders or feel like this year is not as likely to push but want him around for 2023.
Texas Rangers
After the signings of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, this team seems like they want to head down the road to being playoff contenders as their lineup is now much improved. Their rotation, however, does not look to be ready for that level of play. Jon Gray was a nice signing this offseason but Dane Dunning looks like a mid-rotation guy at best to me. There is some potential in Spencer Howard and Cole Winn but they have not shown it in the majors yet. Bringing Montas on to be the leader gives them a lot more validity and potential to be a playoff team.
Boston Red Sox
The pitching in Boston has regularly been their main problem. We already mentioned them for Bassitt and Manaea but they could value a longer term option in Montas more. Their rotation has not had a lot of future value and Montas would change that. Guys like Tanner Houck and other prospects like Groome, Bello, or Mata could be there to help soon but having a major league proven guy that has been great would be more beneficial for them given their current state.
Chicago White Sox
If Carlos Rodon decides to sign elsewhere, that leaves an open spot in their rotation. Now that could be filled with Michael Kopech who was great as a reliever and performed well in spot starts in 2021. However, filling it with Montas instead gives you another good starter and keeps Kopech in the bullpen as a great relief option. It also gives you coverage if Dallas Keuchel continues his poor performance as they could then move Kopech into the rotation.
Los Angeles Dodgers
This team has never been afraid to make moves and then figure it out later. While Bassitt and Manaea would work for the year, Montas provides them future availability. The Dodgers have a pretty full rotation. However, depending on how Gonsolin pitches and what May looks like when he comes back, that could leave a spot open, which they could then just automatically fill with Montas for 2022 and 2023 to be covered long term.
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis’ rotation went through some hard times in 2021 with Flaherty, Mikolas, and Hudson all missing significant time or the whole season. Mikolas and Hudson will need more time to figure things out and helping them do that slowly could be beneficial and where trading for Montas comes into play. He provides them with a good arm they can rely on while pretty much everyone else figures themselves out. I know Liberatore is on the way soon but he also seems like he could use some more seasoning before being a full-time major league pitcher.