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The Jesus Montero era in Seattle is over.
Montero was claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays today, officially ending his time with the Seattle Mariners. Needless to say, this is not how the Mariners (or Montero for that matter) expected things to go after trading for him in the 2011-12 offseason.
The trade that brought Montero into the Mariners’ organization was big news at the time. The Mariners had a surplus of young pitchers, but had struggled the season before, coming off a 67-95 season. Michael Pineda was thought to be an up and coming ace, almost like Taijuan Walker is today. It was obvious the Mariners could use some more bats, though.
That brings up the New York Yankees, who had hitters galore. These were the times when Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were somewhat in their primes. The rotation had CC Sabathia, but needed another arm. Jorge Posada had just retired, so it seemed that Montero was to take his place as the starting catcher.
Both the Mariners’ and Yankees’ plans changed drastically when they agreed to a deal that swapped Montero for Pineda. At the time, it was hailed as a great move by both teams, strengthening areas of need on both sides. Now that Montero has been waived and picked up by the Blue Jays, it is safe to say the Yankees came out on top.
Pineda never became the ace pitcher the Yankees had hoped for, but he is still planted firmly in the middle of the Yankees’ rotation. He has definitely had his ups and downs, highlighted by a suspension for pine tar, but it is fair to say the Yankees are happy with the deal at this point.
Unfortunately, the second Montero put on a Mariners uniform, his career was mismanaged. Although the Yankees saw Montero as the future backstop of the organization, the Mariners proceeded to move Montero to first base. In trying to maximize his plate appearances, they took away one of his best skills as a baseball player: His catching ability.
Montero has struggled since the move, never cementing himself as the everyday first baseman, always seen as a decent backup. The most unfathomable part of it is how badly the Mariners have struggled at the catcher position since acquiring Montero. Using Montero’s natural ability at catcher, only strengthening it over time with experience, somehow never seemed like an option for the Mariners.
I have been extremely happy with the turnover on the Mariners’ roster this year and what new GM Jerry Dipoto has done not only for this year, but the future of the franchise. I also was a loud voice for Dae-ho Lee to earn the backup first base job over Montero. What the Mariners have done to Montero’s career is almost inexcusable, though.
Even after the Mariners realized that they had not gotten what they thought they had in Montero, an attempt to recoup something from Montero via trade never happened. Even with Dipoto trading off half the team this previous offseason, Montero still saw himself on the Mariners. Even when it became apparent that Montero was at the bottom of a three-player list for the backup first base job in spring training and with injuries decimating the bullpen, the Mariners didn’t make a move.
Instead of another four years of experience as a catcher, learning his trade, the Mariners decided to move Montero to a position intended for older, slower players generally. Instead of trading him when he had value, giving him a chance to succeed somewhere else, he was kept in a backup role at best. When the Mariners had already narrowed down the competition for the backup first base job and Montero was not on it, they waited until the very last moment possible to waive him. This is at a time when most teams have their roster set.
Montero will have a tough time getting back to being a regular in MLB, but the Mariners helped that in no way by switching his position. All the blame cannot be put on the Mariners, but it would be foolish to think this was all Montero’s fault. Either way, the Montero era in Seattle is over, so it’s time to move on.
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