Notorious former Mariners reliever is Yankees' latest desperation heave

Rafael Montero has spent 11 years in the majors, and Seattle Mariners fans are all too familiar with one of his low points. Yet he has had a weird knack for bouncing back at opportune moments, which brings us to the latest development in his career.

As Héctor Gómez was first to report on Thursday, Montero has joined the New York Yankees on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. If he makes the major league roster, he'll get a $1.8 million salary and a $500,000 roster bonus.

Montero is 35 years old and coming off a three-year run in which he ran a 4.77 ERA over 168 appearances. Most of those were with the Houston Astros, though he split the 2025 season between the Astros, Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers.

He managed to save face with Detroit, posting a 2.86 ERA over 22.0 innings and even making it onto their roster for their roster for the AL Wild Card Series against Cleveland and AL Division Series against (naturally) Seattle.

Rafael Montero's career refuses to die after minor league deal with Yankees

For Mariners fans, the very mention of Montero's name still elicits bad memories.

He spent half the 2021 season with Seattle, and "disastrous" doesn't even cut it for how he pitched. He ran up a 7.27 ERA in 40 appearances, allowing 56 hits in 43.1 innings. The Mariners eventually DFA'd him and packaged him with Kendall Graveman in a trade to Houston, which did not go over well in the clubhouse at the time.

Montero had the last laugh. He stuck with the Astros for the 2022 season, and was one of their best relievers in a World Series-winning season. For him, it all led to a three-year, $34.5 million contract.

That contract wrapped up in 2025, and even Montero's strong finish with the Tigers only did so much to redeem it. His ERA was solid, but he walked 14 batters and struck out only 19. His only appearance in the playoffs saw him blow a save in Game 1 of the ALDS, allowing two hits, a walk and a run while getting nobody out.

That said, there isn't a lot of downside to the Yankees taking him on. If Montero has a strong spring, it'll only cost the organization $2.3 million to add him to the bullpen. If not, well, there he goes.

The real storyline concerns just how unambitious the Yankees have been this offseason. Free-agent deals with Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have been central to a "run it back" campaign, yet they also allowed Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to depart. Their bullpen is worse for it, so they probably shouldn't be resorting to desperation heaves on guys like Montero.

It's like a dark-mirror version of the Mariners' offseason. Theirs has also been about running it back, but also about sharpening dull edges that held last year's team back. As it was, the 2025 Mariners made it closer to the World Series than the 2025 Yankees.

In any case, there's no harm in wishing Montero or the Yankees good luck. They're both going to need it.