The Milwaukee Brewers added starting pitcher Frankie Montas at the MLB trade deadline. After trading their ace Corbin Burnes before the season began, the Brewers have taken control of the National League Central. They needed to replace their lost pitching at the deadline and Montas is the perfect fit to do that. Now, Montas has spoken to Bally Sports Wisconsin about his excitement for his tenure in Milwaukee.
“I'm definitely excited. I'm definitely looking forward to going out there and grind with these guys and perform.”
Montas has a mutual option for 2025, so he could be pitching for the Brewers for next season as well. He will be in a different role for the Brewers than he was for the Reds which could prove beneficial moving forward. His new team has pitchers who have performed well this season and allows Montas to slot in lower in the rotation. He posted an ERA over 5.00 as the Opening Day starter for the Reds.
Montas is expected to make his Brewers debut on Friday against the Washington Nationals. He looks to get off to a better start than his new teammate Aaron Civale, who has made four starts for the Brewers. The team is 1-3 in those four starts and he holds an ERA of 4.49 in 21 innings. They need both pitchers to shine to make a deep playoff run.
Brewers and Montas look toward playoff success
The Brewers have had a tremendous amount of playoff success in recent years. They have made the playoffs five times since 2018 but have only made it to the National League Championship Series once. Despite their trade of Burnes and the cavalcade of injuries this season, they can make the playoffs again.
The new playoff format is not setting up kindly for Milwaukee this year. Fangraphs has their playoff chances at 84.3% but their chances of getting a bye to the division series at just 16.0% entering Wednesday's action. They would need to pass the Dodgers or Phillies to earn that bye. The likely Wild Card series emphasized the Brewers' need for pitching depth at the deadline.
Montas does not have the playoff pitching pedigree that the Brewers would hope for in a deadline acquisition. He has only pitched 6.2 innings in his three appearances. He has allowed seven runs and three home runs in those appearances. While it is a small sample size and one good start can change all of that, it is still not what the Brewers need from their rotation.
The Reds moved on from Montas because of their position in the standings. They needed to sell at the deadline with five teams between them and the last Wild Card spot and nine games separating the Reds and Brewers in the division race. Montas returned two prospects that can make immediate impacts for the Reds. Outfielder Joey Weimer fills their biggest need at the pro level and Jakob Janis provides length to their bullpen.
Brewers fans should be just as excited about Frankie Montas's arrival as the pitcher himself is. The added depth to their rotation ahead of the playoffs will help them in their quest for their first-ever National League pennant.
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