Mason

Montgomery

Montgomery was able to strike out 63 hitters in 46 innings of relief for Tampa Bay, which is pretty good. He also walked 27 and had a 5.67 ERA in that timeframe, which is not. He’ll compete for a bullpen spot with Pittsburgh this spring more than likely, but it’s worth noting that he does have starting experience in the minors.

The framework of the finalized deal is the same that was reported earlier on Friday. Mike Burrows will be heading from the Pirates to the Astros, Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery will go from the Rays to the Pirates while Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito will go from the Astros to the Rays. The Astros have been inquiring on Burrows for a while now and was an obvious target of theirs to upgrade their starting rotation. The 26-year-old right-hander posted a 3.94 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 97/31 K/BB ratio over 96 innings in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Pirates in 2025.

Alex Stumpf of MLB.com and Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com report that the deal is done, pending medicals. The Astros would be receiving Burrows from the Pirates in the proposed deal while Lowe would head to the Pirates along with Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery. Melton and Anderson Brito would move from the Astros to the Rays in the massive swap. From the Pirates’ perspective, they will add one of the best power-hitting second basemen in the game. While there’s more work to be done, it’s a nice step forward to legitimize their lineup.

Montgomery has thrown 40 pitches over the last two days and has pitched in three of the Rays’ last four games, so the team will send him to the minors to bring a fresh arm up for the bullpen. The talented left-hander has been turning things around a bit in July and August, but he allowed five runs on five hits in 2/3 of an inning on Wednesday in a loss to the White Sox.

He’ll take the roster spot that was vacated by Taj Bradley’s demotion. He may only be around for a couple of days to add an extra arm to the Rays’ bullpen while they decide who will fill Bradley’s spot in the rotation. Montgomery has struggled to a 5.74 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and a 41/19 K/BB ratio over 31 1/3 innings in 40 appearances with the Rays this season.

Although he’s notched 41 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings, Montgomery is sporting a 5.74 ERA, partly because of an elevated walk rate but also because of a seemingly unlucky .359 BABIP. He still seems like a top relief talent, and it’d be no surprise to see him come back in a few weeks and put together a nice second half.

Montgomery disappointed as a starter in the upper minors, but since moving to the pen, he’s looked like someone who could become one of the league’s top lefty relievers. First, though, he needs to crack a Rays pen that is largely filled with out-of-options pitchers. It’s a mission made more difficult by the fact that he has all of his options remaining.

Alexander threw 50 pitches in a win over the Twins on Wednesday, so the team will send him to the minors to get a fresh arm in the bullpen, which will be former top pitching prospect Mason Montgomery.

Montgomery is the Rays’ 4th-ranked prospect but has struggled in 2024, pitching to a 6.26 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 87 2/3 innings across 31 games (14 starts). However, that does come with a 105:36 K:BB ratio, and his stuff has played up since moving to the bullpen. In his last 10 relief appearances, he has not allowed a run while striking out 20 batters and walking five. He can run his fastball up to 97 mph with elite iVB, so he could be a factor in the Rays’ bullpen down the stretch. He will take Alex Jackson’s spot on the 40-man roster after the catcher was designated for assignment.