Montas, whose rising trade stock took a serious hit after dealing with shoulder tightness just before the All-Star break, restored his value with a pair of solid outings in his return. For the season, Montas is 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts and 109 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings. His 1.14 WHIP ranks 10th among American League starters. Montas is under team control through the 2023 season, which A’s general manager David Forst cited multiple times as a reason why there was no rush to trade him. The A’s wanted a fair return for what they felt was arguably the top pitcher on the market, and they took a package headlined by left-hander Ken Waldichuk — a product of nearby Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga who was rated by the Yankees No. 5 prospect and the No. 70 overall prospect in the most recent MLB Pipeline rankings. Also coming from New York are right-hander Luis Medina (Yankees’ No. 10 prospect), left-hander JP Sears (No. 20) and second baseman Cooper Bowman (No. 21). All four enter MLB Pipeline’s top 30 A’s rankings: Waldichuk at No. 3, Medina at No. 7, Sears at No. 19 and Bowman at No. 29. “We have three pitchers ready that are very close, if not already, to the Major Leagues,” Forst said. “Sears has been in the big leagues and we saw him up close in New York a few months ago. All three guys we think are close to being in a Major League rotation, and Bowman is a guy who is having a fantastic first full year out of the Draft. I’m excited to add all of this to our system.” The A’s received a lot of interest from several teams during Spring Training for Montas, who was viewed as Oakland’s next star on the move after trading Chris Bassitt, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Sean Manaea in a three-week span. Despite the encouraging improvement in play over the past month, the focus is on continuing to strengthen a farm system that now features several promising prospects expected to help the A’s return to the playoffs over the next two years. Montas, 29, was originally traded from the Dodgers to the A’s in August 2016 and faced some ups and downs as a young pitcher before fully developing from a simple pitcher to a top stuff pitcher. In six seasons with Oakland, Montas went 35-30 with a 3.70 ERA in 114 games (89 starts) and has developed a splitter that has emerged as one of the most dominant pitches in the game. Trivino, who was selected by the A’s in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, began the year as Oakland’s closer, but eventually lost that role after a shaky start. He has a 6.47 ERA with 10 saves in 39 relief appearances this season. Waldichuk, 24, will report to Triple-A Las Vegas. He was a fifth-round pick by the Yankees in the 2019 MLB Draft after starring at Saint Mary’s and owns a 3.00 ERA in 50 career Minor League games (48 starts) with 328 strikeouts in 215 2/3 innings. After dominating Double-A Somerset to start the 2022 campaign with a 1.26 ERA in six starts, Waldichuk quickly earned a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he has a 3.59 ERA in 11 starts with 70 strikeouts. strikeouts over 47 2 /3 innings. Waldichuk brings a four-seam fastball that sits around 92-95 mph with impressive zone carry that leads to plenty of swing-and-miss. His low-80s fade slider and sweeping slider are also a plus when he’s at his best, and the lefty is also working on adding more depth to his curveball. Overall, it’s a four-pitch mix that has him almost ready to slot into Oakland’s starting rotation. Sears, 26, has split time between Triple-A and the Major Leagues this season, pitching well in seven games (two starts) with the Yankees while posting a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings. He is 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) at Triple-A. Given his 6-foot-11, 180-pound frame, Sears qualifies as more of a multi-revenue reliever than a rotation piece. Sears will also report to Triple-A Las Vegas. Medina, 23, is a big arm whose fastball is 96-99 mph and has reached 103 mph with a cutting action. He has had command problems at Double-A Somerset this season, where he is 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA and 81 strikeouts with 40 walks in 72 innings. If Medina can overcome his command issues, he is considered a potential starter. If not, the bullpen is his likely destination as a major leaguer. For now, he will join the starting rotation at Double-A Midland. Between the spring trades and Monday’s move, the A’s have significantly improved their depth throughout the system. Five of the Top 10 prospects are now pitchers (Waldichuk, Medina, Gunnar Hoglund, JT Ginn, Ryan Cusick) acquired in trades since March. “I wouldn’t say in any of the deals we’ve made since March that we’ve necessarily gone to target pitching,” Forst said. “Ultimately, with the organizations we were dealing with, that’s kind of where we ended up. Certainly after this deal, you look at the pitchers that have been added to our system in the last couple of months and I feel very, very good about our depth going forward. … Add those three guys in, it’s an exciting depth group for our system.” Bowman, 22, was a fourth-round pick by New York in the 2021 MLB draft. He has shined with speed at High-A Hudson Valley, where he has swiped 35 bases while slashing .217/.343/.355 with eight homers and 15 doubles in 80 games. The A’s still hold on to a few players whose names have been floating around in trade rumors recently, including outfielder Ramón Laureano and catcher Sean Murphy. As Tuesday’s deadline of 3 p.m. PT quickly approaching, Forst said he expects trade talks to intensify around the league, including his current discussions with other clubs. “We’re going to look at the opportunities that are out there,” Forst said. “As with everything, we balance the players who are here now and contributing with what we think we can achieve for future teams. I don’t have a checklist of things to do beforehand [the Trade Deadline.] We will continue to be updated on where the opportunities are. “There is a possibility for anything. The pace usually increases in the last 24 hours with any deadline in this game. We will be ready for anything.”
