Will be interesting to see how much we ate. I honestly don’t care if we ate as much as half or slightly more, getting any portion of that contract off the books frees up space for a move down the line. Can’t believe Brown found a taker.
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I’m glad his last outing here was a good one.
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Mark Bowman (Braves writer) tweeted that the Astros are sending enough cash to cover “a majority of Montero’s $11.5m salary.”
https://x.com/mlbbowman/status/1909771330938904796?s=46&t=X3AG1fkSceS-5Ge7ZBEz-A
When’s the last time the Astros had four LHP in the pen?
1st guess, never. But not having done any research this evening, I will be awaiting the True Up.
I have been a fan of Montero’s arm. I am sorry it did not work out for him here.
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Reported this morning that Houston is sending about $7.5M to Atlanta in the deal. That is a lot, but it still frees up what, about an additional $3M in room before the first tax line?
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Me as well. I had an affinity for him for some reason. Hope he does well.
I had an affinity for him too, but I know the reason. It was his 73 strikeouts in 68 innings in 2022, and his being a key part to that shutdown bullpen that won them the World Series. His 10-pitch scoreless 8th inning in the Game 4 no-hitter. The last couple of seasons have been rough on him, but I am thankful the Astros acquired him when they did.
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I liked his arm from the beginning, and I hoped 2022 turned him around.
Yep, just under $3M in savings per the report linked on MLBTR. Glad for him that he stuck with the organization after the DFA and that they were able to find a fit. All the best to him in Atlanta.
The savings provides a little flexibility if they want to make a move at the deadline, or it could just be what they need to stay safely under the cap. It’s more than I think anyone expected they’d be able to get.
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The PTBNL for Montero is RHP Patrick Halligan. Drafted in 2021 by KC but released after two years, Atlanta picked him up as a free agent, and he’s been bouncing around their org since then. FG wrote him up last summer:
A 2021 Royals JUCO pick, Halligan only lasted a couple of years in KC’s system before he was release mid-2022. The Braves signed him and for a while attempted to stretch Halligan out as a starter before simplifying things late in 2023 and early in 2024. Working an inning or two at a time, Halligan’s deceptive delivery and nasty splitter have allowed him to dominate Double-A. His combination of size and extreme over-the-top release create funky plane on Halligan’s heater and make his splitter seemingly impossible to pick up out of his hand as it plummets into the dirt. He’ll bend in a mid-80s cutter and low-80s curveball just to show hitters something else, but if Halligan is going to be an unlikely big league success story, it’ll be because of his split.
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According to Rome bullpen help is coming:
Forrest Whitley will throw 1+ inning on Wednesday for Triple-A Sugar Land and, after that, could be ready to join the major-league team. Kaleb Ort will go back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday. Shawn Dubin threw a live BP today and will join Triple-A this weekend.
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Whitley officially activated. Nick Hernandez optioned.
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They should have an ambulance to drive him in from Sugar Land, just in case.
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Whitley back to the IL, left knee sprain. Kaleb Ort activated.
Mr. Glass
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How the hell did he do that?
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Not a move yet but McCullers pitched 5 shut out innings for CC last night. Gave up just 3 hits and 1 BB while striking out 7. 71 pitches - 45 for strikes.
Sounds like he is ready to be activated.
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Jogging in the OF?