Athletics’ Frankie Montas Expected to Return Following All-Star Break
One of the biggest names on the trade market is slated to return to action later this week once the All-Star festivities conclude.
Oakland Athletics starter Frankie Montas, who’s been sidelined since July 3 due to shoulder inflammation, will almost certainly be traded ahead of the August 2nd trade deadline. But he hasn’t pitched in over two weeks.
That however, is likely to change very shortly. After throwing a bullpen session over the weekend, A’s manager Mark Kotsay revealed Montas responded “very well” to his outing and remains an option for the club’s doubleheader versus the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
At the time of his injury, Montas departed his start in Seattle after facing just four batters in one inning, where he allowed one run via a solo home run from Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez. It seemed as though the 29-year-old hurler was headed to the injured list, however, the team opted against it.
The Athletics were hopeful the right-hander could returned before the All-Star break, and according to Ken Rosenthal’s report, were previously planning to start him this past weekend. Obviously, that didn’t end up happening.
Now, with Montas receiving additional recovery time, Oakland hopes to have its prized trade chip back on the mound to begin the unofficial second half. If he pitches on regular rest, the 6’2″ starter could make two more starts before the trade deadline.
Montas, who features another season of team control after the current campaign, has already garnered plenty of interest in trade discussions. He, along with Cincinnati’s Luis Castillo, are viewed as the premier pitching targets via trade.
In 17 starts, the righty has posted a 3.26 ERA, a 3.33 FIP and a 1.9 fWAR rating across 96.2 innings. He also owns a 25.8 percent strikeout rate and a 6.2 percent walk rate.
A season ago, Montas enjoyed a breakout performance, which put him in the conversation for the AL Cy Young Award. The Dominican native registered career-highs in innings pitched (187.0), strikeouts (207) and fWAR (4.1).
After trading most of their core earlier this season – including Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt – Oakland’s teardown is likely to continue with Montas. And it probably won’t end with him, either.
Fellow starter Paul Blackburn is another intriguing trade chip that could potentially be moved by Aug. 2. The 28-year-old, who’s recorded a 3.62 ERA in 18 starts this season, won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2025 campaign.
Since he doesn’t fit the Athletics’ timeline, there’s a good chance the right-hander will be traded in the coming weeks. If by some chance he stays through the rest of the campaign, it would be shocking if he didn’t change teams during the off-season.
With the trade deadline only two weeks away, Oakland’s front office will undoubtedly be kept busy throughout the rest of July.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.