Once the ace of the Athletics’ rotation, Frankie Montas has been something of a forgotten man since being issued an 80-game PED suspension on June 21. Montas will be eligible for the last five games of Oakland’s regular season, however, could still help the A’s get into the playoffs. GM David Forst told Chris Townsend of the A’s Cast podcast (partial transcript from Ben Ross of NBC Sports Bay Area) that the team is prepared to use Montas as either a starter or reliever, and has kept him stretched out in simulated games in case a start is required in one of those five games. Montas could also get a minor league game under his belt if Oakland’s Double-A or Triple-A affiliates advance in the postseason, as Montas is eligible to begin a rehab assignment beginning on September 10.
Montas was in the midst of a breakout campaign at the time of his suspension, with a 2.70 ERA, 9.7 K/9, and 4.62 K/BB rate over 90 innings. Though he won’t be eligible for the postseason if the Athletics are able to claim a wild card, Montas could certainly still be a valuable x-factor during what could be a very tense final week of action as the A’s, Indians, and Rays battle for the two wild card slots.
Some stray items from around baseball…
- After returning from the injured list just yesterday, Ramon Laureano left the Athletics’ 10-2 win over the Tigers tonight due to what the A’s described as a right leg cramp. After a leadoff double in the sixth inning, Laureano made it into second base despite “limping right out of the box,” as MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos described the situation. Manager Bob Melvin told Gallegos and other reporters that he hoped Laureano would be back on Monday, as the outfielder was already scheduled for a planned day off on Sunday. Laureano missed over five weeks due to a stress reaction in his right shin, and another absence would be the last thing he and the A’s need as the club chases down a wild card berth.
- Amidst the speculation about whether or not J.D. Martinez will exercise the opt-out clause in his Red Sox contract after the season, Ken Rosenthal (in his latest video report for FOX Sports) points out that Martinez doesn’t necessarily have to decide right now if he wants to leave Boston. The slugger also has opt-out clauses after both the 2020 season and (assuming he can avoid another Lisfranc-related right foot injury) 2021 season, so he could perhaps wait one more year to see if his market evolves. Despite Martinez’s hitting prowess, there aren’t too many obvious suitors for a mostly DH-only player….unless the National League were to become involved, as Rosenthal wonders if Martinez would stay in his contract to see if the NL adopted the designated hitter in the next collective bargaining agreement.
- Also from Rosenthal’s video, he makes a case for why Didi Gregorius could be “the odd man out” for the Yankees even if he performed well for the remainder of the season. New York might simply prefer to use Gleyber Torres at shortstop in 2020 rather than re-sign Gregorius, who is almost seven years older than Torres. Recovery from Tommy John surgery kept Gregorius from playing until June 7, and he is one of the few Yankees not tearing the cover off the ball, with a .252/.282/.462 slash line and 14 homers over 280 plate appearances (for a below-average 90 wRC+). If the Yankees did decide to move on from Gregorius, however, Rosenthal figures the team would still need to extend another veteran infielder, as DJ LeMahieu (who’d play every day at second base if Gregorius departed) is only under contract through the 2020 season.
- The Rangers and Yohander Mendez will learn in the offseason whether the left-hander’s one remaining minor league option will still be retained for 2020. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details the situation, as the league already granted Mendez a fourth option for this season, though the lefty only made his 2019 debut today after missing the first five-plus months rehabbing a sprained UCL. This means Mendez hasn’t accumulated the 20 days of optional minor league assignment necessary to burn an option year. If Mendez is ruled to be out of options, the Rangers would then have to designate him for assignment (and thus expose him to a waiver claim) if they wished to remove him from the 40-man roster.
So Montas is not eligible for the playoffs in the majors, but he can still play in the playoffs in AA or AAA? That seems strange.
Only once his suspension is done with. That is why the article stated that he could get playing time if those minor league affiliates advanced.
Different rules vs the mlb. Like federal has their own laws howevee states and cities adapted their own. Think logical
A guy can cheat at the highest level and is banned for competing for a championship at that level and is then allowed to compete for championship at lower levels. You call that logical? You and I must have different meanings for that word.
AA team fights all year for a shot at the playoffs. Once in, they have to face a major league hitter or pitcher. That’s not fair at all. Their rosters should be set a month early also. A player doesnt need a rehab stint in September. The season is almost over.
Let alone a juiced up major league pitcher or batter.
Baseball revolves around the big league clubs. That’s why minor leagues exist. Doesn’t matter what point of the season or who the player is.
Then why bother with post season for the minor leaguers? Teams that don’t have a team in the minor league playoffs don’t get the same advantage as those with teams in.
Probably because most teams in the minors have a completely different team than they had all year long. Most AA teams best players are already called up to AAA and best AAA are in the MLB by time playoffs roll around..
Minor league playoffs are meaningless.
Who cares about minor league playoffs?
I’ve said it for a while, I’ll say it again. I know the Yankees got Didi to replace Jeter’s power and I know he plays hard but I agree, he’s a replaceable bat in the line up and he’s the wrong age for us to be smart in giving him a 4 or 5 year deal. DJ LeMahieu on the other hand, has played so well for us and been so indispensable he won’t take a cheap team friendly deal and we’d be better off with a guy of his skills in the same age range compared to Gregorious, who isn’t going to be worth the $70M over 4 years he will probably be asking for.
LeMahieu is having the best season of his career, thanks to the the line up, the stadium and maybe he thrives mentally as a Yankee. I also think he has plenty in the tank. Yankees would be better off to re-sign LeMahieu to a 2 year/$46M extension, then spend the other $24M they don’t pay Gregorious on extending other core players or hiring high leverage pitchers on shorter deals.
Didi will be out but DJ isn’t going to accept a 2 year extension. Yankees rarely hand out extensions so DJ may test the free agent waters again.
Why wouldn’t he accept a 2 year extension if he jumped on the 2 year/$24M deal they first hammered out? The Yankees and DJ LeMahieu signed that deal with the assumption he would play in about 40 fewer games than he has played and definitely didn’t expect the offense he’s produced. No way he takes less than $20M per season after this if he comes even close to repeating this performance next season and the Yankees really need a steady utility guy, as was proven this year and has been proved in other years riddled by injury, aging stars and developing players with holes in their games.
Torres is going to be around forever and will need to signed to a long term extension pretty soon. Yanks don’t seem comfortable re-signing Gregorius, it’s risky to rely on still-developing prospects, most of whom aren’t on Torres’ level, obviously. They already have LeMahieu, he already loves being a Yankee, they seemed to agree on price points when he was originally signed, so I think they can get a deal done quickly.
Don’t get me wrong the annual money is good. But he opened a lot of eyes this year so he can get a longer term deal. The reason he got a lesser contract was 1. He played in Colorado and 2. The free agent market for him wasn’t there and he wasn’t expected to play everyday.
I get it. The league struggled to valuate him comfortably and accurately. I’m fascinated by those types. The kinda guys who have very good to stellar numbers but struggle for deals while other dudes get their options picked up, get extensions, etc. based on their peak performance that they haven’t matched or based on the idea that some years they’re MVP calibre even if some years they’re below replacement level.
If he duplicates this performance next season, LeMahieu he could very well get a 4 year/$110M deal from someone. I’d like to see him give the Yankees a slight discount for the guaranteed years and for the guaranteed competitive edge that comes from playing on the Yankees and being their best overall player.
As a Yankee fan and with respect to LeMahieu’s potential market value, I still think a 2 year/$46M extension would be most appropriate, but I understand that it might take an extra 1-2 years to get that done, so a LeMahieu extension could be for 3 years/$100MM minimum if he’s just out for maximum AAV, which I don’t think he is.
I recall him saying he got better offers from other clubs but he wanted to be a Yankee so when they called him his agent and the Yankees worked a deal out very quickly that felt like a fair middle ground for both sides. No reason they can’t do that again.
Yankees pay guys if they deserve it and if their scouts/evaluators determine they can be helpful going forward. If anybody fits that description to a T, it’s DJ LeMahieu.
I would love to ultimately see him on what amounts to a 5 year/$105M deal, meaning a 3 year/$81M extension. It’ll be fair, it won’t break the bank in today’s market and it’ll conclude just at the point at which almost every player drops off and goes from A-list starter to expensive veteran platoon/bench presence, which LeMahieu would thrive at too.
DJ would be a perfect fit for the Rangers if Odor doesn;t turn around his game.
Good points here and comes down to budget for 2020 forward. Both Judge & Sanchez will go through Arbitration for the 1st time and infield depth is a Yankees strength even if Andujar isn’t part of the long term plan. Didi would return a draft pick in the 30s compensation slot if he rejects the $18M roughly QO. Yankees could add a cheaper SS (say Freddy Galvis) then allocate the money to likely their top target Gerrit Cole. The direction of the Yankees offseason will likely hinge on whether they win the Cole sweepstakes.
C: Sanchez
1B: Voit
2B: LeMahieu
SS: Torres
3B: Gio
LF: Frazier / Tauchmann
CF: Hicks
RF: Judge
DH: Giancarlo
Bench Pieces:
Andujar
Ford
Wade
Greg Bird (Non Tender / Trade)
Estrada
Higgy
FA:
Gardy
Maybin
Encarnación (Option)
Romine
Didi
Bring back Gardner as insurance again. Wouldn’t shock me if a team overbid the Yankees on Gardy. Maybin probably isn’t room but monitor that market. Romine probably looks for expanded role. Cashman will have to fill the backup slot via trade. I’d love to go after Mariners Tom Murphy who’d be surprisingly expensive or maybe Reds Barnhart / Jays Maile.
Russell Martin is a free agent. Always thought he was a solid person and player for the Yankees. He could be brought back as a backup for a veteran presence.
Cervelli is another one. Not playing everyday can help his concussion issues. A yankee fan favorite.
Martin is pretty much done….there’s no room for veteran influence as he can’t hit his weight any longer and defensively, there are a lot of backup catchers that match his defensive abilities at this time if the Yankees go for a defense first backup at catcher and let Romine go.
Cervelli, due to concussions, is probably not going to want to backup at catcher any longer and he basically doesn’t have another position he can adequately play so as a bench player on the Yankees he simply doesn’t fit.
Hey Chino-You sound like a Mets fan. If you looking for a new employer call Jeff and Fred. They love these kind of moves.
I think you’re pretty spot on with this. Although I think they trade both Ford and Wade to make room for the rule 5 guys they will need to protect.
Prediction: Didi will accept the QO.
Didi would be a fool to not take the QO if offered. Who will gamble a draft pick, top $ for years for a guy that is coming off TJ surgery and has splits like .252/ .282/ .462? He’s not even a solid defender anymore. Too much of a question mark for next year. I could see them agree to an extension, but no to a QO. If he does get an extension, he will be a very active bench player.
Considering the Yanks committed $12 mil this year knowing he could have missed more than half the season, they will definitely extend him a QO this year. They have a better chance working out a smaller extension if he declines a QO than if they never offer one at all.
Doubt any NL team will be looking to sign JDM as a free agent. Astros, Yankees or Twins might take a look.
If A’s rotation can stay healthy and suspension free next year a manaea, fiers, montas, bassitt, puk, luzardo group looks pretty decent. mengden is out of options and very inconsistent. I wouldnt mind signing roark for solid veteran stability
No way does trader Billy keep all them though, Bassitt is a lock to be traded.
Montas-Manaea-Fiers-Luzardo-Puk will probably be the rotation, with a lot of the chaff like Mengden, Cotton etc traded within the next 18 months.
Another interesting move would be to acquire Mookie Betts from Boston, the A’s are one of the teams who could get him. Puk, Barreto, Bassitt and one more probably gets it done. Piscotty will probably get traded too now Canha is really good.
JD Martinez won a Silver Slugger as an OF last year, he plays too much OF to be called a “DH-only” player like you mention in the article, regardless of how good you think he is, he’s still an option.
He’s about as much of an option in the outfield as David Ortiz was at first base. He’s a flawed player and will be greatly disappointed if he opts out.
JDM is terrible in the field. Unless it’s a Fly ball hit almost right at him, I hold my breath for every play he has to deal with. Just within the last week or so he fumbled a one-hopper that got past his glove, through his legs and a run scored from first. He’s okay out there in the field once in awhile but definitely not 40 or 50% of the time. Solid DH.
Yesterday the ball boinged out of his mitt on a fly out.
Just yesterday his lack of outfield skills led to the Yankees big inning. Great hitter, defensive liability.
If the Brewers resign Moose and then sign Didi to play short I think with the money that is coming off the books, I still think they could sign Wheeler
Yankees should be signing Wheeler. Cole is going home to the west coast.