A painful offseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers finally provided some hope for the future with the team acquiring right-handed pitching prospect Francelis Montas from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported a trade between the Dodgers and the White Sox was in the works that included Montas. The deal turned out to be much bigger and involved the Cincinnati Reds, with Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reporting Todd Frazier was going to Chicago.
Heyman added the Dodgers were also getting Micah Johnson and Trayce Thompson from Chicago, as well as Montas, and FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reported the Reds were receiving infielder Jose Peraza, second baseman Brandon Dixon and outfielder Scott Schebler.
Montas ended 2015 as a top 100 prospect, No. 54 overall, according to MLB.com’s rankings. The 22-year-old ended last year with the White Sox, appearing in seven games (two starts) and posting a 4.80 ERA with 20 strikeouts, nine walks and 14 hits allowed in 15 innings.
That brief sample size aside, Montas has an electric arm, even though there is work left to be done before deciding if he can handle a starting role.
At the time of Montas’ call-up last summer, Mauricio Rubio of BaseballProspectus.com did question if his delivery and knack for overthrowing would hurt his chances to remain a starter:
His mechanics feature a lot of moving parts, hindering both the command he currently has and making it more difficult for him to improve on this in the future. Montas’ foot strike on landing is almost pointed straight at third base while his head is almost pointed at first. As you might imagine, this makes it difficult to control where the ball is going. Some still see the promise of a starter lying dormant within Montas, but everything about him suggests a potentially dominant relief future rather than a no. 3/4 starter.
Per MLB.com’s scouting report, Montas brings the heat with a fastball that has peaked at 102 mph with “some sink and cut” on the pitch.
“His mid-80s slider can reach 88 mph and be a well above-average pitch at its best, though it also flattens out and gets hittable,” MLB.com wrote. “Likewise, he can show feel for a changeup with fade at times but have the pitch look like a batting-practice fastball at times.”
This does present an interesting question of how the Dodgers plan to use Montas. If they simply tell him to use his power stuff in short bursts, he can serve the role Los Angeles’ front office initially had marked for Aroldis Chapman before that deal with Cincinnati was put on hold due to a report from Tim Brown and Passan of Yahoo Sports involving an alleged domestic incident.
However, starting pitching has been a need area for the Dodgers this offseason since Zack Greinke signed a six-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They have tried to supplement their rotation behind Clayton Kershaw, reportedly agreeing to a deal with Hisashi Iwakuma, according to Heyman.
Youth and big league readiness are two things the Dodgers need in pitching prospects. Top prospect Julio Urias, who is just 19 and reached Triple-A last year, could be ready for a look in 2016, assuming he can remain healthy after throwing just 80.1 innings in 2015.
Montas still has a lot of development ahead of him to stick in the starting rotation. The Dodgers do have depth in that area, with Brett Anderson and Alex Wood behind Kershaw and, assuming the deal gets finalized, Iwakuma.
Brandon McCarthy will presumably return around the All-Star break after having Tommy John surgery last April.
The Dodgers just have to weather an early-season storm, as well as big moves made by the Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants, but they have the pieces to stay in the National League West race.
Montas’ power arsenal in a short burst out of the bullpen, coming in to shut down the eighth inning and paving the way for Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning, will provide stability to an area the Dodgers desperately needed to address.
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