TAMPA — The New York Yankees signed veteran reliever Rafael Montero to a minor league deal in mid-February. They gave him a locker. They made room in a crowded bullpen competition. They publicly talked up his potential.
There is just one problem. Montero is not here.
The 35-year-old right-hander has been unable to report to George M. Steinbrenner Field because of a visa issue that has kept him in the Dominican Republic. The Yankees opened Grapefruit League play on Friday against the Orioles in Sarasota without Montero. His locker sat empty. And the clock that governs spring training roster decisions started ticking the moment camp opened.
Montero’s history of spring visa delays adds wrinkle
“Rafael Montero has yet to arrive at Yankees camp,” MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported on Wednesday. “He’s being delayed by a visa issue.”
Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the situation, noting that Montero already has a locker assigned in the clubhouse but “paperwork and visa issues” have prevented him from reporting. No firm timetable has been disclosed. The Yankees have not publicly identified the specific visa classification involved, though professional athletes from outside the United States typically enter on P-1A work visas.
This is familiar territory for Montero. He dealt with a similar visa delay before reporting to Houston’s camp in 2022, when MLB.com noted he arrived late but had been throwing in the Dominican Republic. In 2023, the Houston Chronicle reported a weeklong visa absence. Montero said at the time he was on schedule and in “a pretty good spot” despite the late report. A CBS Sports item in 2025 framed his delay with the Astros as a short setback before he reported to camp.
Visa delays are not unusual across baseball this spring. Cubs manager Craig Counsell described his club’s multi-player visa situation in blunt terms: “Out of our control.” He projected a timeline of “next weekend, at the earliest” for one case. ESPN reported in February that some players and agents described waits exceeding three weeks in visa processing, with Venezuelan players sometimes required to travel to third countries for consular access.
The stuff is real, but command concerns followed Montero everywhere in 2025
The Yankees did not sign Montero expecting a savior. They signed him expecting competition and depth. His contract, reported by MLB Trade Rumors, includes a $1.8 million base salary and a $500,000 roster bonus if he makes the big league club. Automatic opt-out dates are built in, including one shortly before Opening Day on March 25.
Montero’s raw stuff remains intriguing. He averaged 95.1 mph on his fastball in 2025 at age 35, ranking in the 63rd percentile for velocity. His splitter has become his primary weapon, thrown 47 percent of the time and generating swings and misses at an elite clip. His chase rate ranked in the 81st percentile. His whiff rate sat in the 78th percentile. When Montero is executing, hitters are swinging at pitches nowhere near the zone and missing.
The problem is command. Montero walked nearly 15 percent of hitters he faced last season. His overall numbers tell the story of a pitcher bouncing between three organizations without a stable role. He posted a 5.08 ERA in 2023, a 4.70 ERA in 2024 and a 4.48 ERA in 2025 across 59 appearances with the Astros, Braves and Tigers.
But dig into the splits and there is a reason for optimism. Montero posted a 2.86 ERA over 22 innings in 20 games with Detroit after the trade deadline. That stretch is exactly the “late-life effectiveness” the Yankees are betting on. Empire Sports Media noted that the Yankees’ pitching development staff, led by Sam Briend, will focus on refining Montero’s release point consistency and getting him to attack the zone earlier in counts.
Every missed day tightens the bullpen math
The Yankees’ bullpen hierarchy is already taking shape without Montero. David Bednar is the closer. Fernando Cruz and Camilo Doval are slotted into setup roles. Tim Hill anchors the left-handed relief. Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn provide swing depth. Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest carries roster retention rules that limit demotion flexibility. Osvaldo Bido, a recent waiver claim, also lacks minor league options.
That leaves a narrow path for Montero. He is competing against optionable arms like Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, Yerry De Los Santos, Angel Chivilli and Kervin Castro for one of the final bullpen spots. His cleanest route to the roster would be a middle-to-late bridge role, not a ninth-inning audition.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/2021667411402088498/video/4
Spring training is a calendar sport. The Yankees need to evaluate stuff, strike-throwing and recovery in game conditions before making March roster decisions. Missing the early ramp-up compresses Montero’s runway. If the delay stretches into March, it becomes a roster math problem. The March 25 opener at Oracle Park against the Giants offers little margin for lost evaluation time.
If the visa clears quickly, this becomes a mild inconvenience and a test of Montero’s sharpness upon arrival. Boone’s earlier public optimism about “small adjustments” would still apply, and Montero could build toward game action in early March.
If the delay drags, the Yankees’ best alternative may be to lean into the in-house optionable group while protecting their non-option constraints elsewhere. Montero, armed with opt-out clauses and an 11-year career that includes a 2022 World Series ring with the Astros, would then face a decision of his own.
His locker is waiting. The bullpen competition is not.
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