Mason

Montgomery

Mason Montgomery was uninvolved in the late game mix tonight, as he opened and threw a scoreless first inning. The Pirates had Brandon Eisert begin the eighth with a 3-0 lead, but he gave up three singles to load the bases with one out. Soto entered then and allowed all of the inherited runners to score before escaping the inning. Santana took over in the ninth in a tie game and gave up hits to all three batters he faced. The second of those was a double that saw the winning run thrown out at home plate. However, that just served to set up Travis Bazzana’s walkoff homer. Montgomery seems like the Pirates’ best late-game reliever right now, but with the way Don Kelly is managing things, it’s hard to recommend any of the team’s relievers.

It sounds like this will be a bullpen game, as Montgomery is not someone who is built up enough to go more than an inning or two. Fantasy managers looking to steal a win should look elsewhere, as it’s hard to fathom he’ll go the necessary number of innings to qualify.

After Gregory Soto converted a save in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Brewers, Montgomery got the chance in the second game with a one-run lead. He worked around a walk, striking out two batters to shut the door on Milwaukee for his first save as the Pirates swept the doubleheader.

Brandon Marsh homered with one out and Bryson Stott singled with two outs, at which point Soto was pulled. Yohan Ramírez took over and allowed the inherited runner to score before finishing the inning. That might have created a save chance for Mason Montgomery, but the Pirates scored three times in the top of the ninth to take it away. Montgomery then pitched a hitless ninth with a four-run lead. Soto has blown two saves and given up runs in two other appearances this month, so it looks like the closer’s role in Pittsburgh is open again. Montgomery, Dennis Santana and Ramirez could all factor into the mix, with Carmen Mlodzinski also possibly picking up some multi-inning saves.

This came after Gregory Soto struck out the side in a tie game in the ninth, The Pirates failed to score in the top of the 10th, so it wasn’t a blown save for Montgomery. It was, however, a setback for the pitcher with the best stuff in Pittsburgh’s bullpen. Montgomery would seem to remain clearly behind Soto and Dennis Santana in line for save chances.

Dotel will follow Mason Montgomery, who likely will get an inning or two before giving way. The 23-year-old has made two appearances since being recalled from Indianapolis with a 3.38 ERA and 1/3 K/BB ratio over 2 1/3 innings.

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.