Seattle Mariners acquire Rangers closer Rafael Montero

Seattle Mariners trade for Rafael Montero

It has been clear that the bullpen is what the Seattle Mariners are looking to work on in the offseason, and today they made another move to prove that. The Mariners have traded for the now-former Texas Rangers reliever Rafael Montero.

The former Mariners pitcher Chris Young has been on a trade parade in his first week in charge with the Texas Rangers after he made various moves during the winter meetings. As for the return for Texas, it is being reported as young prospect Jose Corniell and a player to be named later.

We just wrote about how Jose Corniell did at the Mariners fall Instructional League, which you can read here:

Montero is an interesting player for the Mariners to trade for, as he only has two years of team control left. In just two years as a full-time reliever with the Rangers, Montero has a 3.09 ERA, 3.78 FIP 46.2 innings pitched. Last season he had 8 saves for the Rangers and no blown saves, making him just one of three pitchers with at least 8 saves and none blown.

Montero throws a 4-seam fastball and a sinker about two-thirds of his pitches and then also has a changeup and a slider which he throws less often. His fastball velocity comes in at 96 and his sinker right around 95.

Montero has been a great reliever for the Rangers after trying to break into the majors as a starter with the Mets, but as I said earlier this trade does seem a little weird as Montero only has two years of team control left and the Mariners are giving up two prospects. This also means that the Mariners will need to trim the 40 man roster as it is now at 41, unless the player to be named later is on the 40 man.