Frankie Montas Trade Was a Win-Win for Two NL Central Rivals
The Milwaukee Brewers desperately needed starting pitching, and the Reds were able to land a controllable outfielder for a rental.
The Reds made their first significant move of the deadline late on Monday night. After acquiring Ty France, who was placed on waivers from Seattle, the Reds traded starter Frankie Montas to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Joey Wiemer and pitcher Jakob Junis.
A move like this is a bit of a buy and sell. The Reds move off of Montas, 5.01 ERA across 19 starts, while getting back two players who can immediately factor in. Montas has a mutual option for 2025 set at $20 million that the Reds were not interested in picking up. Moving him made sense as his production was medicore, just like the Reds playoff chances.
Did the Reds get a good return for Frankie Montas?
The return coming to Cincinnati was honestly better than I would have guessed. Outfielder Joey Wiemer, Just Baseball’s No. 95 prospect in 2021, struggled with Milwaukee in 2023 before landing back in the minors the majority of this season. In Triple-A he slashed .242/.387/.358 with three home runs in 53 games.
He’ll put together some rough at-bats at times leading to an above average strikeout rate, but does have some tools. The power has not developed like some projected from his prospect days but he has speed and is a very good defender in the corner outfield, while also being able to play center. Another possible platoon option. The 25-year-old former Cincinnati Bearcat will get a fresh start in a comfortable city.
As for Junis, he’s bounced around a bit. After starting in Kansas City, he had ups and downs in San Francisco before logging 26 innings with Milwaukee this season. He’s started in the past and also been used as a multi inning bullpen arm.
Junis is not going to rack up a ton of strikeouts but he does a good job of limiting walks and has a slider that gives him a chance of providing this team value.
If the Reds move on from Nick Martinez, Junis can fill the same role of an opener, multi-inning reliver, or spot starter. At the very least he’s a veteran arm to help the Reds get through this season. I’ll note Milwaukee and San Francisco have had success finding underrated pitchers in turning them around so they must have seen something in Junis.
Did the Brewers Do Enough with Montas?
Milwaukee clears two 40-man roster spots while also adding a veteran starter than can help them chew up innings on their way to the playoffs. After several injuries to their rotation, several rentals were rumored to be on their radar. They likely landed on Montas over Jack Flaherty due to cost.
Wiemer had fallen behind in the depth chart and was expendable to be someone else’s project. Junis was another case of an expendable arm and to Milwaukee, it’s an easy price to pay. While I do not think it’s a bad trade, if Montas is their last starting pitcher added I will be underwhelmed. Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas do not scream “we are really going for it.”
Final Thoughts
Cincinnati added an outfielder which was a desperate need. While Wiemer is not the proven all-star name you might have in mind, there’s upside and team control.
With two option years remaining, Wiemer can be a fourth outfielder or back and forth type improving the likes of Levi Jordan, Blake Dunn, and dare I say Reece Hinds. This move allows you to move Nick Martinez without worrying about filling his role.
All for an underwhelming “expiring” contract.
Both teams benefit. No, I do not think any of these players make a significant impact but rarely do trades of these caliber of players lead to much. Although it’s a marginal trade, improving on the margins is underrated and how you build quality depth.
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