Instant Grade: Brewers make good use of expendable depth in trade for Frankie Montas

Trying to find pitching at the 2024 Trade Deadline is difficult. There's a ton of demand and very little supply. Generally, that means prices tend to go up. The Milwaukee Brewers were looking at a lot of high price tags.

The Houston Astros sure didn't help, overpaying for Yusei Kikuchi and his 4.75 ERA. They gave up their #2 prospect in Jake Bloss, plus Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner. Kikuchi was a rental, a free agent at season's end.

If that's what Kikuchi could get, what could the top rental starter in Jack Flaherty demand for a return? The Brewers have long been on the lookout for starting pitching and were reportedly targeting Erick Fedde, who went to the Cardinals earlier today. After that happened, the Brewers pivoted to Frankie Montas.

The division rival Reds are tied with the Cubs for last place in the NL Central. They aren't going anywhere and have been willing to sell off some pieces, Frankie Montas chief among them. The Brewers weren't afraid to deal with a division rival.

Montas wasn't having a much better showcase season before free agency than Kikuchi, posting a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts this year. It's his first year back after missing almost all of 2023 due to surgery.

While the surface numbers aren't great, the Brewers will be looking to turn things around for him similar to how they brought in Aaron Civale looking to lower his ERA.

In return, the Brewers gave up a couple of expendable pieces from their 40 man roster who weren't in the plans for the future. Given the current state of the pitching market, that's not a bad price to pay.

Frankie Montas Trade Grade: B

I give this trade a 'B' for the Brewers. It's not the big, reliable rotation pickup that the Brewers were really needing. With other top arms like Jack Flaherty and Tyler Anderson still out there, making a move for someone a little more trusted would've been a nicer boost. Montas has an ERA north of 5.00 and has struggled in July, so this trade can't be an 'A'.

However, it's a tough market for pitching and the Brewers were able to acquire a starting pitcher that can at the very least eat up some innings and take the ball every fifth day and they paid a very modest price to do so while other teams are having to pay exorbitant prices.

Joey Wiemer was expendable. His value had been rising with a great month of July in Triple-A, but he wasn't going to be a part of the Brewers outfield future. They sold as high on him as they could.

Jakob Junis missed a lot of time early this season with injury and has been a solid bulk option out of the bullpen, pitching to a 2.42 ERA in 10 games this year. But the Brewers also have Bryse Wilson as a bulk option back there while DL Hall and Joe Ross are set to return to the active roster soon in similar roles. There's simply not enough room for four bulk pitchers in a bullpen.

The Brewers included the $1MM in cash in the deal to offset the difference between the mutual options for Junis and Montas. Montas has a $2MM buyout on his 2025 option while Junis has a $3MM buyout.

I think the Brewers will make Montas better over the next two months. Frankly, they'll need him to be. Overall, they needed another pitcher they could plug into the rotation and that's what they got here. It wasn't their first choice, but they got some help.

Acquiring starting pitching without giving up any potential future pieces is a huge win in this seller's market at the 2024 deadline. Because of that, I'll give this trade a 'B'. It's not flashy, but it's solid and it'll help this team down the stretch.