Jesus Montero is raking in AAA right now. After another 3-5 night, he’s now up to .423/.423/.558 on the year, with 1 home run and 4 doubles in 52 plate appearances. Understandably, there has been quite a bit of commotion to call him up as soon as possible. I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anytime soon though and it’s probably more prudent to wait. Here are my quick 3 reasons.
1. Russell Martin has been playing better than anyone probably expected. Whether we’ll see that going forward, I have no idea. To this point though, there’s no need to replace a catcher hitting .314/.375/.608. He also happens to not be a total liability with the glove which is something of a novelty for Yankee fans when combined with above average offensive ability. Again, it’s all a very small sample size and I doubt we’ll see him continue to hit this well going forward. Posada as the DH has performed much worse, however his shaky early start (.160/.276/.460) has a lot to do with a poor BABIP (.094- yes that’s a zero). In addition to his bad luck I seriously doubt Girardi or Cashman would consider making a serious change less than 100 at bats into the season. If things hold and Martin continues to hit well but Posada does not then sometime later in May or June I think it would be conceivable to see some sort of rotation with Montero mixed in, some days catching and others DHing.
2. Right now April has allotted the Yankees some extra off days and because of the scheduling quirk and some weather issues, a backup catcher has barely been needed. Gustavo Molina has had 3 at bats to this point. After tonight though, the Yankees aren’t off again until May 9th. Looking at the weather forecast (a haphazard task, I’m aware) and knowing how the New York region is this time of year, I doubt many would be surprised if there was another rainout in the future. What I’m really getting at is that playing time may be hard to come by at this point in the year.
3. To this point while Montero has hit extremely well, he still hasn’t taken a walk and his defense remains poor. To this point, he’s only thrown out 13% of base stealers which is actually below his career average of 21%. Montero has never been a guy to take a ton of walks, which is certainly fine considering the way he can hit but it may be in the best interest of everyone if he settles back into his regular approach.
I certainly want to see Montero in the majors at some point this year. What I would hate to see though is him called up to a situation where he doesn’t have regular playing time and withers on the bench. I don’t think that the Yankee organization would let this happen thankfully. So I’m going to be patient and trust they’ll call him up when the situation presents itself.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
11 Responses to When Will Montero Arrive?
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
Sean, I’m curious on what you think about this. Assuming Russell Martin stays healthy and continues to produce this season at a slightly reduced level. Can you see the Yankees using Montero as a possible trade chip? Then in say 2 years bringing up Romine or even Sanchez if he progresses quickly in the minors to take over full time catching duties?
I hope the Yankees DONT do that because they need a young middle of the order bat they can have around for awhile. I think ultimately Romine is a backup catcher, I don’t think he’s a starting catcher and Sanchez is real far away still. I’m not sure Montero will be the “catcher of the future” but he should be the middle of the order bat the Yankees have struggled to develop.
For what it’s worth Sean I agree with you on Romine. I have always been a little hesitant in saying he is “the catcher of the future”, and I have always had a hard time seeing his bat develop into that of a starter. Plus the more reports you get on his defense still show him as raw in his own right, and if you are having questions asked about your bat and glove behind the plate at Double A it’s a stretch for everyone to be so sure he is the real succesor.
Sanchez has more potential than all of them IMO because he actually has the frame to stay behind the plate, but he is only 18 or 19 and at that age is no guarantee to do anything but be talked about for years.
Montero is an interesting case because I fully believe in his bat, and I think he can be good enough behind the plate eventually to allow you to deal with his faults, but with Mauers injuries it almost makes me more hesitant to force him into a catcher because of the effect it could have on his offense long term. I’m just not sure if it would be best to A. Keep him and try and make him a catcher B. Keep him and save his body as much as possible and just stick him at DH or C. Trade him and see if you can get a Josh Johnson or Felix Hernandez in return. It’s a very toug situation, one I’m sure the FO has had many debates about.
Yeah, it is a tough call but as I said on the weekend I would only really be in favor of trading him for a young asset like you said Chris. It’s time the Yankees stopped getting 30 plus players beyond their primes, concentrating on winning “this year” only. I have no idea what Montero will do in the majors- look at expectations vs what Weiters has done- but I know he represents a large chip for the Yankees I wouldn’t want them to cash in for the usual suspects. Not yet anyway.
There really are very few pitchers I would cash in Montero for, and unfortunately, or fortunately depending on where you fall I don’t see any real major starting pitching piece being traded this season.
The only 2 names of actual aces or close to being aces that could become available I can come up with at all are Felix and Johnson. That really shows how few options there really are because I believe the M’s when they say they won’t trade Hernandez at all this season (I think Pineda only strengthens that for them), and the Marlins would really have to fall out of it for JJ to hit the block. Outside of that I can’t even come up with someone to talk about who’s even 40% realistic.
I don’t want to see any of our young guys (Betances included but not Brackman) traded for as you said the usual suspects which include names like Myers, Carpenter, Zambrano, Etc…
Looking back on last year I wonder how much Cashman wishes he had traded for Dan Haren? It may have cost Joba but it would sure have our rotation looking differently.
Could have been titled, ‘When Will Jesus Bring the Porkchops?’
Haha that’s a great George Carlin book
Gentlemen, I hear you when you say not to trade Montero for “just anyone” that’s not what I was implying in my first post. I hear some of you say if Montero can’t catch he can be used as a DH. The Yankees are probably only going to need a DH to replace Posada for 3 years 2012 through 2014. After that you are probably looking at A-Rod DH’ing. After all A-Rod will be 39 years old in 2014. You don’t see to may 39/40 year olds playing 3rd base in the Major Leagues. Can anyone really believe that Montero as part of a package isn’t worth trading for say Jared Weaver or Verlander. Or maybe even trading straight up for say someone like Matt Cain. Besides isn’t even a solid #2 more valuable then a DH. Considering what the Yankees starting rotation could potentially look like after this season if CC were to opt out (but even if he didn’t). Does anyone really want to see the Yankees go into the 2012 season with their current rotation roughly and Banuelos. I think it’s kind of concern to think of a starting rotation for the Yankees in 2012 of CC, AJ, Hughes, Nova and Banuelos. or down right frightening if it is: AJ, Hughes, Nova, Banuelos and who knows as a #5 (if CC opts out). Heck if all the Yankees are going to use Montero for is DH’ing they could use Jorge Bazquez in that role I would think for a year or 2. All I’m saying is I think there are better uses for Montero then DH’ing and if one of those is trading for a young pitcher a #1 or solid 2, so be it.
I personally can say I wouldn’t trade Montero and a package for either Verlander or Weaver, and there is no way the Giants would ever take Montero. The Giants have not only Buster Posey but also Brandon Belt, who although is struggling right now is one of the top rated prospects in baseball. They would have no place to play him since they have a catcher and first baseman of the future, and the NL doesn’t have a DH.
Honestly weaver is good but he isn’t someone I look at and think he’s a legit ace pitcher like Sabathia, he hasn’t shown me enough past strikeouts yet to believe in him in the playoffs in New York. Los Angeles is going for this year as well so they would have to be pretty far out to trade someone like Weaver. With Morales coming back in May they might be looking to be buyers at the deadling, and they might me be more inclined to trade Haren and keep Weaver if things go south quickly so I doubt he’s available for anything less than Montero, Banuelos and a package.
I worry that with his violent mechanics and work load over the last few years that Verlander is going to become the next Jake Peavey and suffer a terrible injury. The Tigers has have had almost no leash on him and he has pitched quite a few 130+ pitch games, and he isn’t exactly closer to 25 than 30 at 28.
I understand the rush behind not wanting a terrible rotation next season because of what could happen, but honestly the Yankees will give Sabathia anything he asks for when he opts out, and Burnett and Hughes aren’t going anywhere. At worst we enter into the same 3 man rotation next season and re-shop free agency and the trade market in the offseason.
The Yankees need to hold on to what could end up being a yearly .300-30-100 bat in the middle of the lineup, the value behind it is incredible. It would allow the luxury to replace Teixeira and Alex when they have declined to the point where they aren’t elite players anymore. Yes we could face a problem in 4 years, but honestly if Montero develops into the best DH in the loeague, like a right handed Ortiz with a little less power, don’t you think he would be worth something at age 25? If we have to cross a bridge in 3-4 years, and it’s a luxurious bridge why worry about it now? If a special pitcher like Hernandez comes up you do what you have to do but you can’t devalue Montero’s possible future because of the hole in the rotation right now.
Well said Chris, I’m just gonna copy that and use it as my explanation from here on out. *slow claps*
Chris, I have a very hard time getting my arms around the idea that fans wouldn’t want to trade what most “in the know” people say is a player who will be a DH on the Yankees when he does get the call for should the opportunity present itself to get a quality young starter. You anticipate pitchers like Verlander and Weaver breaking down, yet you more then give Montero the benefit of the doubt that he potentially could be a 300/30/100 player without him having played a day at the major league level. I’ll say it one more time the Yankees don’t need a DH. In probably 3 years A-Rod will in all likelihood be the Yankees primary DH. Until then this year Posada is it, then the Yankees could call upon Jorge Vazquez if need be or always sign a DH during any off season. That is unless fans really expect to see a 39/40 year old 3rd baseman. It’s just my opinion but a premier pitcher who the team can count on for 4 to 6 years has more value to the team then a DH (even a good DH). Pitching wins championships, DH’ers don’t. One final comment. If I were the Yankees GM and I got a call and was able to put together a package that included Montero and could get either King Felix, Josh Johnson, Justin Verlander or one or 2 of the other premier pitchers as long as I was able to keep Banuelos and a few other of the top Yankee prospects like Sanchez I’d do it in a heart beat. Again, that’s just my opinion. I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree about how Montero’s value is best utilized by the Yankees.