The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired three players from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this month in a rare trade that should pay immediate dividends in 2026 rather than little impact until future seasons.
Second baseman Brandon Lowe is the key player as a left-handed hitter with power who should improve a Pirates’ offense that finished last in MLB in runs scored this year. Switch-hitting outfielder Jake Mangum should also provide a boost after hitting .290 with 27 stolen bases as a rookie this past season.
Then there is Mason Montgomery. The left-handed relief pitcher is the third and less heralded player acquired in the three-team trade that also had the Pirates ship right-hander Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros.
“(Montgomery) hasn’t quite leveled up to his talent level yet at the major league level in terms of overall performance,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “Really dynamic stuff from the left side, young, up to 100 mph from the left side with a plus slider. We think the underlying stuff was better than the surface ERA. Someone we think we can really grow with. We believe a particularly good fit at PNC (Park) just given who left-handers have fared there.”
Montgomery broke into the major leagues in 2024 by pitching in nine games for the Rays, three years after being their sixth-round draft pick from Texas Tech. He kept his rookie status this year and had a 1-3 record with one save and a 5.67 ERA in 57 games.
Montgomery had control and command problems, walking 27 batters and allowing six home runs in 46 innings. However, Montgomery also had 63 strikeouts, raising his career total to 80 in 55 2/3 innings, an average of 12.9 per nine innings.
“I think we want to give our pitching group some time to get to know him and kind of dive into his game with him, and figure out what the ways forward are,” Cherington said. “There always are with every pitcher. So, we'll do that between now and spring training. But yeah, this is a dynamic and very talented, high upside, left-hand pitcher. We think his best days are ahead of him.”
Lowe has seen enough of Montgomery to believe that the 25-year-old can become an All-Star caliber pitcher.
“I mean, 20-plus inches of carry is legit,” Lowe said. “Being somebody that's had to face those kind of metrics before, I don't understand how he ever gives up a hit. And I know that the numbers and the ERA and stuff like that are concerning to people on the outside, but knowing Mason personally, I know his work ethic, I know everything that he wants for himself, I have no doubts that he's going to come in with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder and show the world that he's much better than that performance that he had last year.
“And the stuff, it's real. And I think people are going to be really excited to see him on the mound when his name gets called.”