Montas, 29, was the top starting pitcher on the trade market after Friday night’s trade that saw the Seattle Mariners acquire Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds. In 19 starts this season, Montas has compiled a 3.18 ERA (117 ERA+) and a 3.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His contributions are worth about 1.6 wins above replacement, per Baseball-Reference calculations. CBS Sports recently ranked Montas as the second best pitcher available. Here’s what we wrote then: Montas’ arsenal remains power-based. He throws four pitches more than 10 percent of the time, and none of them are slower than 86 mph. (So much for needing a large velocity zone to keep batters off balance.) The main reason he’s behind Castillo is that he’s reliably unreliable. In other words, Castillo is on pace for his fourth season with 100-plus innings in five tries. Montas’ next will be the second of his career, a product of injury and suspension. On the bright side, he’s pretty good when he’s available, and an acquiring team will be checking his services through the 2023 season. Montas bolsters a Yankees rotation that currently includes Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Nestor Cortes, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo Germán. The German figures to be overtaken by the starting five to make room for Montas. It’s unclear how the Yankees will shift their pieces if and when Luis Severino returns from the injured list with a strained lat. (He is expected to resume pitching soon.) Looking for more about Montas trade? Fantasy Baseball Today recorded an emergency episode to break up the deal. Listen below: Trivino, along with fellow reliever Scott Efross, will help a Yankees bullpen that has already lost Michael King and Chad Green for the season. Trivino recently was tabbed by CBS Sports as one of the best under-the-radar trade prospects based on the promise of his new sweeping slider and an unsustainable batting average on ground balls. Sears, 26, has appeared in seven games this season for the big league club, compiling a 2.05 ERA (190 ERA+) and a 3.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s a small left-hander with a flat angle toward the top of the zone that relies on three pitches: a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a slider and a changeup. Sears has a history of hitting pitches and should have a chance to become at least a regular starter for the A’s soon. Waldichuk, 24, has posted a 3.59 ERA and 3.04 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 11 Triple-A starts. He has a deceptive delivery and a good fastball-changeup combination, along with a pair of breaking balls that rate as margin or better. Waldichuk has struggled with his location and is likely to finish the game in relief. The A’s will probably give him a look as a starter since they have no real reason not to. Medina, 23, is considered a reliever. His fastball combination is pretty good, but he’s a smaller right-hander with a career walk rate of over six per nine innings. He posted a 3.38 ERA and 2.03 strikeout-to-walk ratio in Double-A this year. Then there’s Bowman, a 22-year-old middle infielder. He’s hitting .217/.343/.355 with eight home runs in 80 High-A games.
