HOUSTON, TX: According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic on X, the Astros announced that they had placed right-hander Rafael Montero on the roster for assignment. In addition, they optioned righty Seth Martinez.
These two actions created openings on the roster for lefties Yusei Kikuchi and Caleb Ferguson, who were added before yesterday's trade deadline. The whole list of moves on X was conveyed by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.
Right present, Montero, 33, is playing in the second year of a three-year, $34.5MM contract that he inked with the Astros following the 2022 campaign. Only 71 games were played by him for Houston that season, and his numbers were as follows: 27% strikeouts, 8.5% walks, 52.9% ground balls, and 2.37 earned run average.
In the process, he recorded 14 saves and 23 holds. He also contributed 10 more excellent postseason outings as the Astros captured their second World Series.
His 4.70 ERA in 2024 is actually a little better than it was the previous year, but the situation is dire internally. In addition to being much lower than previous year, his 14% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate are also below league averages.
When you take into account his 78.6% strand rate and.243 BABIP, he has actually been very fortunate.His 5.23 SIERA and 6.39 FIP imply that he hasn't always been as good as his ERA would suggest.
The Astros were reportedly attempting to transfer Montero's deal last week in order to make room for pitchers like Zach Eflin and Jameson Taillon, who command high wages.
Ultimately, it appears that they were unable to find a taker, which makes sense given his stats. Their only choice now that the time has passed is to place him on waivers, which will result in Montero leaving for nothing.
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