The Nationals have designated catcher Miguel Montero for assignment, per a club announcement. That’ll open an active roster spot for the activation of backstop Matt Wieters and clear a 40-man place for Moises Sierra, whose contract was selected with fellow outfielder Adam Eaton hitting the DL.
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Montero, 34, received the nod as the reserve catcher to open the season after signing a minors deal over the winter. His contract included a $1.3MM salary in the majors, though according to Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (Twitter link) it was not fully guaranteed.
While he was once a solid regular behind the dish, Montero has trailed off in recent seasons. He still knows how to draw a walk, but is just a .211/.316/.343 hitter since the start of the 2016 season and didn’t quite reach that standard in his Grapefruit League action this spring. On the defensive side, Montero’s once-sparkling framing numbers dropped in 2017 and he had marked difficulty controlling opposing runners on the bases.
Of course, some of those same sorts of questions are still also facing Wieters, who is coming off of a forgettable 2017 season in D.C. He’ll look to get back on track now that he has recovered from a minor oblique injury, though it’s possible he will increasingly need to share time with the younger Pedro Severino, who bypassed Montero after Wieters went down. It’s questionable at best whether Severino will hit consistently in the majors, but at this point the Nats have good cause to give him an opportunity to show he can. On the whole, the catching situation remains a major source of uncertainty for the D.C. organization.
Not the brightest but he did make 72+ million in his career.
Montero is going to release a statement shortly blaming his struggles on his pitching staff.
chri thats more than likely going to happen. I think something he’s going to say is and I quote “Yeah the pitching staff throws way to slow, so I can’t throw out potentials runners who steal 2nd, 3rd, and home”.
THE REIGNING. DEFENDING. UNDISPUTED. MOST UNDERWHELMING CATCHER IN THE LEAGUE. MIGUEEELLLLLLLL. MONNNTEERRRROOOOOOO.
“That’ll open an active roster spot for the activation of . . . “
“ and open clear a 40-man place for . . . “
Um…. More caffeine, please.
“At this point the Nats have good cause to give him an opportunity to show he can.”
Yes, it’s called “lack of a viable alternative.” Even if Severino doesn’t hit consistently, will he produce less than Wieters or Montero while providing better D?
Aww give the dude a break. He’s already disadvantaged by having two first names.
Disadvantaged? His entire name consists of eight letters. Makes signing stuff much easier.
Hes been in the league about 3 years too long now
Garbage statement, Montero had the go ahead grand slam for the cubs in game 1 nlcs 2016, also had the winning rbi in game 7 of the world series that year.
Good for him. That doesn’t negate him being a clubhouse cancer.
Miguel Montero and Joe Maddon deserved each other in the Cubs clubhouse, a couple of overrated and faultless ego maniacs.
It was Zobrist who had the game winning RBI, which is the RBI that puts a team ahead to stay. Montero drove in an insurance run, which as it turns out was needed.
One thing is for certain, Miguel Montero will not be reuniting with Joe Maddon anytime soon with the Cubs.
Too bad about Adam Eaton going on the disabled yet again. He was often his own worst enemy with the White Sox running into walls with reckless abandon. Since joining the Nationals his injuries have been the result of some bad luck.
Washed up
Sandy Leon would look great in a National’s uniform. How did they give up on him so early? Not saying he’s HOF quality but certainly an MLB catcher.
Agreed. An experienced backup with the ability to control the running game.
He is probable available from the RedSox … not getting much playing time
I smell a JT Realmuto trade coming
I smell HS
Severino more than deserves a shot. Wieters should be his backup honestly. In about 100 PA’s he is hitting around 280, .380 OBP. That extremely small sample gives me way more hope than Wieters by a long shot.
Phillies will sign montero to make arietta look good, if thats even possible at this point in his career.