Padres rumors: Frankie Montas another SP target at MLB trade deadline

The San Diego Padres were recently linked to a few starting pitchers for the trade deadline, including Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani. According to Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic, Oakland Athletics pitcher Frankie Montas was also in conversation.

Montas is among the best pitchers in Oakland. This season, he’s produced an ERA of 3.18, batting average against of .231 and WHIP of 1.13. He’s struck out the most players among all pitchers on the Athletics (109).

He’s also under club control until 2024, which would provide stability to San Diego’s starting rotation. San Diego’s best pitchers Joe Musgrove and Mike Clevinger are eligible for free agency in 2023, which leaves Yu Darvish as the only reliable pitcher currently on the roster under club control until 2024.

Montas is reportedly a target of several other teams.

Padres aren’t the only team targeting Frankie Montas

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees are the three “most aggressive” teams in trying to land Montas. Other teams, in addition to the Padres, targeting him less aggressively are the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays.

Montas would be a great addition to San Diego. The Padres are currently among the best teams on the mound in MLB. They have the eighth-best ERA (3.78), fourth-best OBA (.231) and seventh-best WHIP (1.21). They’ve also struck out the sixth-most hitters (888).

Though the Padres are doing extremely well on the mound, Montas could help provide longer-term sustainability with Musgrove’s and Clevinger’s futures unclear.

He’s comparable to Clevinger, who has produced an ERA of 3.38, BAA of .218 and WHIP of 1.13 so far this season.