Frankie Montas trade rumors: Oakland A’s focused on three teams

While the Juan Soto Sweepstakes and the hypothetical chase for Shohei Ohtani may be dominating headlines, neither player is a given to be traded at the deadline. Such is not the case with Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas who should have a U-Haul on standby.

The only question is which team will land the A’s ace. According to Jon Morosi from MLB Network, there are three finalists for his services – the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Cardinals.

Frankie Montas trade hunt could be entering final stages

It may come down to how comfortable teams are with his health. Montas has pitched a total of eight innings since returning from the Injured List due to shoulder inflammation. He is not scheduled to start again before the deadline, with those eight innings being all that teams will be able to judge his health upon.

To be fair, teams know what they would be getting with Montas at this point. He will take the ball every fifth day, typically provide six or seven solid innings, while occasionally performing at an ace level. He is a solid middle of the rotation arm at worst, someone that could make a major difference to a team’s hopes come October.

It should not be a surprise that these three teams are the reported finalists. The Yankees were after Luis Castillo until the moment he was traded while the Blue Jays and Cardinals desperately need to shore up their rotations. At the same time, this list of finalists means nothing since a mystery team could jump in at the last minute and make a better offer than that trio.

At some point, the A’s will pull the trigger. Montas will be traded and months of speculation will be over. It is just a matter of when and which team ends up with the A’s ace. Right now, it appears to be down to those three teams.

The Frankie Montas Sweepstakes is entering its final stages. According to reports, the Oakland A’s are focusing on three teams for a deal.