Tigers reliever trade acquisition takes huge step towards high-leverage role

Tigers reliever trade acquisition takes huge step towards high-leverage role originally appeared on The Sporting News

At the 2025 MLB trade deadline, while the Detroit Tigers didn't swing any deals for superstars like some of the other top contenders, they landed a lot of players with potential.

Detroit added Charlie Morton, Chris Paddack, Paul Seawald, and Kyle Finnegan as some of the headliners of their deadline moves. But the Tigers added another pitcher who was once a dominant reliever but had been struggling all year.

That pitcher is Rafael Montrero. But after his most recent outing against the Minnesota Twins, in which he secured the win for Detroit in extra innings, Montero and manager A.J. Hinch can see the 34-year-old pitcher take a step towards a higher-leverage role.

Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press shared the postgame comments from Montero and Hinch, which point towards the veteran reliever getting more opportunities going forward.

"I made the choice with Montero because he can miss some bats," Hinch said, "The velocity is good. He's starting to settle in. He's been in big moments. So I went with him."

This comment from Hinch is a good sign for Montero's role increasing as the season goes along. Montero helped the Houston Astros win the 2022 World Series, and that experience is something Hinch is planning to utilize.

Montero went 1.1 innings with two strikeouts in a huge outing for the Tigers. Such a huge outing was a big deal for Montero as well, as it's a huge boost of confidence.

"This is a big shot of trust in myself," Montero said, "I started the season pretty bad, and we've been working to get better and better."

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This season, the 11-year veteran has a 5.52 ERA and -0.6 WAR. He's had his struggles in recent years, but back in 2022, he had a 2.37 ERA in 71 outings with the Astros.

Getting back to such a pitcher isn't likely, but if Montero can close the gap and fall somewhere between his peak ability in 2022 and his performance this season, then the Tigers' strategy at the trade deadline will have worked.

Instead of spending top prospects on elite closers, Scott Harris went cheaper, taking multiple dart throws. Montero has a 6.35 ERA in his four outings with the Tigers, but this outing is a very positive one to build off of.

His struggles in recent years have put Montero down, but this outing is a great one to build off of. If he can build off this outing, Montero could be put into higher-leverage roles.

In 2022, his postseason ERA was 1.93 in 10 appearances. Montero can be a high-leverage arm, and this 1.1 inning outing is a step towards the Tigers' trade deadline acquisition reaching such a role on his new team.

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