Yankees Add Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino For Four Prospects

After adding Andrew Benintendi from the Royals and Scott Effross to bolster their lineup and bullpen, the Yankees swung a deal with Oakland to acquire righthander Frankie Montas for the rotation and Lou Trivino for the bullpen.

Montas was one of the best starters available on the market and will not be a free agent until 2024. He’s produced one of the best chase rates this season, and is producing numbers nearly identical to his output in 2021, when he finished sixth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

Trivino has not been particularly productive this season, having worked to a 6.47 ERA in 39 games. He’s gotten plenty of strikeouts, however—45 in 32 innings—and, like Montas, has gotten chases at an excellent rate.

In return, the Yankees sent Oakland a package of four prospects—lefties Ken Waldichuk and J.P. Sears, righty Luis Medina and infielder Cooper Bowman. Sears and Medina already have spots on the 40-man roster and Waldichuk will need a spot in order to be protected from this year’s Rule 5 draft.

YANKEES ACQUIRE

Frankie Montas, RHP
Age: 29

In Montas, the Yankees acquired a pitcher capable of bolstering their rotation both now and next year. He’s been durable and productive for the last three seasons after a PED suspension cut short his 2019 campaign. He works with a powerful arsenal fronted by mid-90s four- and two-seam fastballs, a nasty splitter in the mid 80s, a high-80s slider and a high-80s cutter. The contact he gives up can be quite loud, but he’s done a great job getting hitters to chase while also commanding the strike zone.

Lou Trivino, RHP
Age: 30

Trivino will pair with fellow acquisition Scott Effross to give New York a deeper bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason. The righthander has not had his best season, but his FIP in 2022 is nearly identical to what he produced in 2021, when he produced 1.2 bWAR out of the bullpen. He’s also striking out more hitters than a year ago (12.7 per nine innings in 2022 as compared to 8.4 in 2021) and walking slightly fewer. His BABIP against is .451 this season.

Ken Waldichuk’s Fastball Has The Yankees Dreaming Big

The 23-year-old lefthander has taken a big step forward this season, owing to improved velocity and a deceptive delivery.

ATHLETICS ACQUIRE

Ken Waldichuk, LHP
Age: 24

Waldichuk was the Yankees’ fifth-round pick in 2019 out of Saint Mary’s. He got his feet wet in the Appalachian League before emerging in 2021 as a force to be reckoned with at both High-A and…