A's send Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino to Yankees for 4 prospects
NEW YORK — The Yankees bolstered their pitching for the stretch run and playoffs, obtaining starter Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino from the Oakland Athletics on Monday for four prospects.
New York sent Oakland 26-year-old rookie left-hander J.P. Sears along with three minor leaguers: 24-year-old left-hander Ken Waldichuk, 23-year-old right-hander Luis Medina and 22-year-old infielder Cooper Bowman.
Earlier in the day, the Yankees got Scott Effross, a 22-year-old rookie reliever, from the Chicago Cubs for Hayden Wesneski, a 24-year-old minor league right-hander.
Montas, a 29-year-old right-hander, is 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts, including a 2.76 ERA since the start of May. He has 109 strikeouts and 28 walks in 104 2/3 innings.
He was the second significant starting pitcher dealt ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline after Cincinnati sent Luis Castillo to Seattle.
Montas has a $5,025,000 salary this year, is eligible for arbitration this winter and can become a free agent after the 2023 season. His fastball averages 96 mph.
Trivino, a 30-year-old right-hander, is 1-6 with a 6.47 ERA — double his 2021 figure — and 10 saves in 13 chances. Right-handed batters are hitting .289 against him this year while lefties are hitting .392 with nine walks in 60 plate appearances.
He has a $3 million salary, is eligible for arbitration ahead of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, then can become a free agent.
The A's, trying to get government approvals for a new ballpark in downtown Oakland, last made the playoffs in 2020, beating the Chicago White Sox in the wild-card round before losing to Houston in the Division Series.
Following the end of the lockout this March, Oakland traded first baseman Matt Olson to Atlanta, third baseman Matt Chapman to Toronto and right-hander Chris Bassitt to the New York Mets. The A's opened the season with the lowest payroll in the major leagues at $48 million and cut about $3 million more over the rest of the season by trading Montas and Trivino.
Sears is 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA in two starts and five relief appearances with the Yankees. He is 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA in nine starts and two relief appearances at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Bowman, a fourth-round draft pick last year who signed for a $353,000 bonus, hit .217 this year for Class-A Hudson Valley with 15 doubles, eight homers, 35 steals and 35 RBIs.
Medina is 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 72 innings this season at Double-A Somerset.
Waldichuk, a fifth-round selection in 2019, is 6-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 116 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings for Triple-A Scranton and Double-A Somerset this year.