On Thursday afternoon, the Washington Nationals signed Miguel Montero to a minor league deal. Here is why it could pay off.
The Washington Nationals‘ current catching situation is less than ideal. Despite coming off of the worst season of his career, Matt Wieters is set to be the primary catcher. With longtime back-up Jose Lobaton no longer with the organization, prospects Pedro Severino and Raudy Read are gearing up for a Spring Training competition.
However, the Nats recently signed Miguel Montero to a minor league deal, adding a bit of catching depth. Montero will not dethrone Wieters as the starting catcher, but he will battle Severino and Read for the back-up job.
Nats fans are familiar with Montero from his meltdown following a Cubs-Nats game last summer. Trea Turner and the Nats combined to steal seven bases against Montero, for which he promptly blamed Jake Arrieta after the game. These comments ended his Cubs tenure, as he was designated for assignment and traded a week later.
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This was certainly the low point of Montero’s season, but it was a rough year altogether. In 76 games between the Cubs and Blue Jays, the veteran backstop hit .216. This also included a particularly horrific second-half, when he hit .138 for Toronto.
Although signing Montero is not the flashy move that most Nats fans were hoping for, it could be beneficial. The most obvious potential payoff is that he could serve as the back-up catcher. Severino and Read do not appear to be major league-ready yet, so signing Montero allows them to remain in the minors if needed.
Having Montero in the organization could also give Mike Rizzo some leverage in trade talks for J.T. Realmuto. It was pretty obvious that the Nats were looking to acquire a catcher, and they have now done just that by bringing in Montero.
Mike Rizzo, who has proven to be an expert negotiator, can now use this as leverage. The Nats do not necessarily need Realmuto, which takes some leverage away from Derek Jeter and company.
Finally, Montero has a few connections to the Nats. First, he played for Dave Martinez in Chicago, when he served as the bench coach. Perhaps, reuniting with Martinez can help him return to form.
Rizzo also signed Montero to his first professional contract when he worked with the Diamondbacks. Rizzo has shown faith in his former players before, and it has worked out, so that could be a good sign.
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Obviously, signing Montero to a minor league deal is not an enormous acquisition. However, it could prove to be beneficial. If nothing else, he can serve as depth in the minors in case of an injury. This is exactly the type of low-risk, high-reward signings that Rizzo specializes in.