Yankees Acquire Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino in Exchange for Four Prospects

Monday August 1, 2022

Montas was one of the market’s best starting pitchers, and he won’t be able to sign a free agent contract until 2024.. He has one of the highest chase rates this season, and his statistics are nearly identical to those from 2021, when he finished 6th in voting for the American League Cy Young Award..

Trivino has pitched in 39 games with a 6.47 ERA this season. He’s gotten a lot of strikeouts— 45 strikeouts in 32 innings—and, like Montas, he’s gotten a lot of chases.

The Yankees gave Oakland four prospects in exchange: righty Luis Medina, lefties Ken Waldichuk and J.P. Sears and infielder Cooper Bowman. Waldichuk will need a spot to avoid being drafted in the Rule 5 draft this year, as Sears and Medina are already on the 40-man roster.

THE YANKEES HAVE BOUGHT

RHP Frankie Montas, who is 29 years old.

Montas is a pitcher who can help the Yankees’ rotation both this and next year. After a PED suspension ended his 2019 season, he’s been dependable and productive over the last 3 seasons. He has a lethal arsenal that includes four- and two-seam fastballs in the mid-90s, a mid-80s splitter, a high-80s cutter and a high-80s slider. The contact he makes can be quite loud, but he’s done a great job of chasing batters while also commanding the strike zone.

RHP Lou Trivino, who is 30 years old.

Trivino, along with Scott Effross, will give New York a more powerful bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason. Trivino’s season hasn’t been his best, but his FIP in 2022 almost identical to his FIP in 2021, when he generated 1.2 bWAR out of the bullpen. Also he striking out more batters and walking slightly fewer. His BABIP in this season is .451.

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