Trade market picking up for Frankie Montas

It is a matter of time before Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas is traded. That time appears to be coming soon.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, talks regarding Montas are starting to heat up. He lists the Cardinals, Mariners, and Yankees as the three most aggressive teams in talks thus far, with the Twins, Padres, and Blue Jays also involved.

Frankie Montas market starting to heat up

It is fair to note that those teams are also pursuing Reds’ starter Luis Castillo. The trade market for both arms is fairly similar, as they both have another year of team control beyond and have had injury issues at different points of the season. Both pitchers have also displayed flashes of being top of the rotation arms, making them all the more intriguing to teams looking for a boost to their rotations.

In Montas’ case, his last two outings have been vitally important. He had missed 18 days with shoulder inflammation, lasting just one inning in his start on July 3 before making his return. While he has not been as sharp as he was, allowing three runs, two earned, on nine hits and four walks over eight innings with nine strikeouts, he is proving to be healthy.

That is the most important detail. Teams know what Montas is at this point in his career. It is just a matter of making certain that his shoulder is fine and that he continues to build back up to the point where he can be counted on to fire his typical six or seven solid innings every fifth day.

He is almost to that point now. Montas lasted five innings on Tuesday, throwing 78 pitches. There was still some rust, as just 44 were strikes, but he is getting closer. That alone should lead to his being elsewhere once the trade deadline has passed.

The trade market for Frankie Montas is starting to heat up. Chances are, he has thrown his last pitch as a member of the Oakland A’s.