The New York Yankees stayed aggressive on Monday and landed arguably the best starting pitcher on the trade block in Frankie Montas. The 29-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Oakland Athletics, along with reliever Lou Trivino, for a quartet of prospects.
Montas, who has a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts (104⅔ innings), should slot into the No. 2 or 3 spot in New York’s rotation, behind ace Gerrit Cole and possibly Luis Severino, if the latter return in good health at the end of this season. . Trivino, 30, has a 6.47 ERA with 10 saves this season, but had a 3.18 ERA in 2021 with 22 saves.
Earlier in the day, the Yankees traded for Chicago Cubs reliever Scott Effross. Last week, New York acquired star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals.
Heading to Oakland in the deal are three pitchers: lefties Ken Waldichuk and JP Sears, plus righty Luis Medina and infielder Cooper Bowman. Waldichuk, 24, is the top-rated prospect in the group, according to MLB.com, which ranked him fifth among the Yankees’ outfielders. He has compiled a 2.71 ERA this year while bouncing between the Class AA and AAA levels. Sears appeared in seven major league games for the Yankees this season, making two starts, posting a 2.05 ERA and a 3-0 record.