Frankie Montas Oakland A’s starter has been lights out but has not been getting any run support and could be a candidate for a blockbuster trade (ESPN file photo)
How long will the A’s keep Frankie Montás?
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
OAKLAND–How long with the A’s keep Frankie Montás? That is “The $64,000 dollar question”. Back in the late 1950’s, there was a game show on CBS-TV prime time with that title. Although today $64,000 is not enough even to buy you an electric car, this is the question that many A’s fans I speak with before every game at the Oakland Coliseum will like to have an answer to.
They have seen all the A’s established players getting traded before the season began; from Olson to Chapman, to Chris Bassitt to others that produced and helped the team make it to the postseason in recent history.
On a warm Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum in front of an 8,215 in attendance, Frankie Montás pitched one of his best games ever, trying to prevent the Seattle Mariners from sweeping the A’s in a 3-game series.
Montás pitched eight innings (had a no-no for 7 2/3, threw fastballs at 99 mph, mixed with his nasty splitter, plus) gave up only two hits, no runs, and struck out eight. His eight innings pitched was a season high. Seattle won the game 2-1.
Montás is 0-3 with a 1.79 ERA in 6 games against AL West teams and 3-4 with a 4.27 in nine starts against the others. For A’s pitchers is dangerous this year to give one or two runs, because their offense is well…offensive. The A’s have been shutout nine times already.
The night before the A’s best pitcher by record, Antioch native Paul Blackburn did not have much on the ball as he gave seven earned runs on ten hits to the Mariners, his team lost 9-0. Although Blackburn should be headed to his first All Star game because of his performance so far, 6-3 with a 2.97 ERA, we all know the best and definitely must gutsy pitcher for the green and gold is Dominican-born Frankie Montás.
Frankie Montás has the most value of any of the current Oakland Athletics active roster and with the shortage of starting pitchers among contending teams, it would be a surprise for the A’s to keep him prior to the regular August 2 deadline.
There are many reasons for that. Common sense will tell us that even if he stayed with the team the whole season, the A’s still will not be a contender. The other reason is just a fact of life in Oakland in 2022, you are here for a short amount of time and logically there are half dozen teams that have been interested in Montás since Spring Training.
We most never think that because he has not been traded, he will stay with the A’s the rest of the season. In my opinion (and I am not a betting man) still a long shot.
The Chicago White Sox come to mind. They were supposed to win the weak Central Division “going away” and they still might, but as of today that is debatable as the Guardians and Twins are definitely looking like they also can win.
Andrew Vaughn is the type of player the A’s can use, the 24-year old Santa Rosa native is on his second year with the White Sox, playing everyday hitting .333 with seven home-runs and 31 runs batted in.
This is just one of many scenarios that have been mentioned during the past few months of a possible trade. Other teams have also ‘check the tires’ on Frankie Montás. It is possible that the A’s want more than Vaughn for Montás and that is keeping both sides from pulling the trigger.
I would like nothing more than for Frankie Montás to be part of the rebuilding going on here in Oakland. and possibly when they move to their new ballpark he can be surrounded by productive players, that would make the Oakland A’s a contender again.
I am the eternal optimist, but I also have my feet planted on the ground and will doubt if he did stayed for this whole 2022 season. It just doesn’t make sense, plus his demand after today’s performance went way up. If anything, after this afternoon in Oakland more General Managers are aware of who is Frankie Montás who has pitched his heart out with very little run support.
Early in the season manger Mark Kotsay told me when I asked him how important is Frankie Montás for his team, he responded “very important, everytime he pitches, our team feels they can win the game”.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead Spanish play by play talent on flagship station Le Grande 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com