Oakland A’s Pitchers Frankie Montas & Lou Trivino Traded To The New York Yankees

The Oakland Athletics traded right-handed pitchers Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the New York Yankees for minor league prospects, first reported by YES Network’s Jack Curry Monday and confirmed by the Oakland A’s.

The A’s received minor league prospects Ken Waldichuk, J.P. Sears, Luis Medina and Cooper Bowman in exchange for the Montas and Trivino. All four players are top 25 prospects in the Yankee’s system, according to MLB Pipeline. Every player, except Bowman, is a starting pitcher as Waldichuk is the big get with 116 Ks in 76.1 IP this year in minor league play.

The New York Yankees are acquiring right-hander Frankie Montas and right-handed reliever Lou Trivino from the Oakland A’s, sources tell ESPN.

First was Andrew Benintendi. Then was Scott Effross. And now the Yankees get Montas to join their rotation.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 1, 2022

Frankie Montas, 29, has been with the A’s since 2017, leading the way as one of the team’s best pitchers in the rotation. He was pivotal in 2021, going 13-9 in the win-loss column with a 3.37 ERA to secure sixth in Cy Young voting.

2022 has been a different story, only winning four of his 13 games this season, but is currently posting a 3.18 ERA. Many of those losses can be attributed to the lack of bats in Oakland with none of their positions players averaging over a .250 BA at the trade deadline.

Trivino has struggled this season with a 1-6 record and a -0.9 WAR. The 30-year-old was drafted by the A’s in 2013, making his MLB debut in 2018. The Pennsylvania native had his best season in 2021, sporting a 3.18 ERA through more than 73 innings pitched for Oakland.

After John Fisher and general manager Mark Kotsay moved Matt Olson and Matt Chapman over the offseason, the full rebuild was on in the Bay Area as Montas, Trivino (and eventually Ramon Laureano) would be moved for younger, cheaper prospects.

The A’s are in last place in the American League with 39 wins and 65 losses. The club also has the smallest payroll in MLB at just over $48 million for the entire roster.

On the flip side, the move helps the Yankees in the immediate future, looking to win their first World Series since 2009. The Bronx Bombers are the hottest team in baseball, led by Aaron Judge’s historic season as he pushes to break the team’s single-season home run record of 61 bombs, set by Roger Maris in 1961. Judge currently sits at 42 homers entering the final 60 games of the 2022 regular season.

The Yankees dealt for Royals’ outfielder Andrew Benintendi last week and Cubs’ reliever Scott Effross earlier Monday, signaling their intention to go for it all this season.

Montas joins a loaded rotation of Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jameson Taillon and Nestor Cortes, hoping to be the deepest team in baseball heading into the postseason.

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