Pitchers and catchers are set to report to A’s camp today, and while the A’s signed Aaron Civale yesterday to be their fifth starter, bringing in another veteran arm as a depth piece could do wonders for the club as we get going.
While numerous fans have littered A’s comment sections on social media asking them to sign Chris Bassitt, with the addition of Civale, that reunion looks much less likely now. The reunion that we could still see, however, would be with Frankie Montas, whom the A’s traded in 2022 to the New York Yankees.
Since that deal, he missed most of the 2023 campaign, pitched to a 4.84 ERA with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, eating up 150 2/3 innings, and then struggled to a 6.28 ERA with the New York Mets last season. They designated him for assignment in November, and he has been on the free agent market since.
With reporting day arriving, perhaps there will be some added urgency for Montas to sign on somewhere, and given that he’s familiar with the club and how they provide opportunities to players, perhaps landing in Sacramento could work for him.
The one worry here is that since he left the Oakland Coliseum he hasn’t been the dominant righty that A’s fans were accustomed to seeing. Back in 2022, he held a 3.28 ERA at home, while notching a 5.59 ERA on the road. Now that the A’s are out of Oakland and playing in a hitter-friendly minor-league facility, that may not be the best scenario for him to excel.
Then again, the signing we’re proposing is a minor-league deal, so there wouldn’t be a huge financial commitment that would be necessary, and it wouldn’t even cost someone a spot on the 40-man roster. He would be around as a depth option that could turn into a little more. Perhaps if he shines in the first half the club could use him as trade bait again.
While the results were poor last year with the Mets, his pitch metrics are still pretty solid. In terms of overall “stuff,” of Stuff+, he finished with a 106 (100 is league average) while having average location metrics. His splitter still stands out, holding a 122 Stuff+ grade, making it an elite offering.
Getting creative?
Jul 28, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Frankie Montas (47) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Perhaps the A’s could even get creative and try him out as a relief pitcher. His fastball and splitter combo are still solid with the heater generating a .215 expected batting average and the split working to a .200 xBA.
Both offerings also held good whiff rates of 27.7% for the four-seamer, and 32% for the splitter.
The issue that he ran into was that those were his only two truly effective pitches last season. His sinker, slider, sweeper and cutter all had batting averages above .300—the sweeper had a .216 xBA—which means that he may not have the pitch mix to be a starting pitcher right now.
Limiting him to two or three pitches would be a little challenging, but they’re also his best offerings in smaller doses, and they could be all he’d need to be a solid arm for a team in relief.
Adding Montas isn’t necessarily a move that the A’s absolutely have to make, but it is one that they could take a small chance on and then see if they can find a new way to get the most out of him, whether that’s in a bullpen spot or as a depth starter.
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