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Yankees: 3 teams that might want Jordan Montgomery-Chad Green trade package

By Thomas Carannante |
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 03: Jordan Montgomery #47 of the New York Yankees in action against the New York Mets during a game at Yankee Stadium on July 3, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 03: Jordan Montgomery #47 of the New York Yankees in action against the New York Mets during a game at Yankee Stadium on July 3, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

Nobody knows what the New York Yankees are going to do at the trade deadline. They’re stuck in purgatory at the moment, likely wondering if they should buy and run this back again in 2022.

However, the 2020 season and the first half of 2021 suggest that may not be the answer. If that is the reigning philosophy in the front office as July 31 nears, we can expect a mini-sale that sees the Yankees capitalizing on some solid assets that don’t figure to be part of the team’s long-term future.

Either way, the Yankees will be prepared to buy or sell, depending on what happens over the next three weeks. Coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees have eight games against the Red Sox, two against the Phillies, and three against the Rays, with seven coming on the road.

That stretch of games could very well determine the fate of Yankees baseball in 2021 and 2022. If things go badly, we might have a better idea of who Brian Cashman might sell to begin the re-tool.

Could Jordan Montgomery and Chad Green be trade chips for the Yankees?

According to the latest rumors, the best trade assets the Yankees might be willing to move are Gio Urshela, Jordan Montgomery and Chad Green. Quite frankly, those names are all reasonable.

Urshela is not going to be extended or signed to a new deal when he’s done with arbitration after the 2023 season (2024 will be his age-32 campaign). You could assume the same for Montgomery, who will be entering his age-31 season. As for Green, he’s a free agent after 2022 and will be entering his age-32 season.

Sadly, these guys were once upon a time integral for the Yankees’ supposed championship window. All controllable assets at team-friendly prices filling in much-needed voids, which allowed the front office to spend big elsewhere and seemingly create a juggernaut.

Now? They’re still performing well, but the team isn’t. And without blowing up the operation, the Yankees can afford to move them and get worthwhile value. It’s not entirely likely, but it’s one direction that could be taken. We already touched on trade packages for Gio, so let’s get wild and look at Monty-Green combos for fun.

These three teams might call the Yankees about a Jordan Montgomery-Chad Green trade package.

3. Atlanta Braves

You think life is bad for you, Yankees fans? Try being an Atlanta Braves fan. After their 3-1 NLCS collapse against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves have been a massive disappointment in 2021 for a multitude of reasons, but injuries and off-the-field issues have really sent everything spiraling out of control.

Additionally, general manager Alex Anthoupoulos opted to let a bunch of bullpen arms walk away and then … not address any of the losses? Explain that one to us.

The Braves have lost Mike Soroka for the season due to an Achilles issue and Huascar Ynoa could be out well into August after he decided to punch the dugout bench and break his hand. Swell.

Despite sitting at 41-44, the Braves are just five games out of the NL East lead. That division is bad. Wouldn’t we kill to be in that position, Yankees fans? Instead we’re 43-41 and 9.5 games out. Awesome.

Nonetheless, if the Braves start to hit the ball and catch a little fire over the next few weeks, why not call the Yanks about this package deal? Monty would help lengthen a rotation that needs help even when Ynoa returns, and the bullpen could use any sort of help with their 4.70 ERA.

Monty owns a 4.17 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 86 strikeouts through 16 starts (86.1 innings) so far. Solid. Green has a 2.28 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with 46 strikeouts in 34 games (43.1 innings). Monty’s ERA would be third-best in the Braves’ rotation right now and Green’s would be second-best behind Luke Jackson in the ‘pen.

Why wouldn’t the Braves be interested?

James Kaprielian #32 of the Oakland Athletics (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
James Kaprielian #32 of the Oakland Athletics (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

2. Oakland Athletics

Hey, any time we can interrupt a Houston Astros run, we do it, right? The A’s are 49-38 and 4.5 games back of the ‘Stros and it’s clear they may need a bit more help to keep their postseason dreams alive.

Oakland always has a good rotation and bullpen, but there are some holes in 2021. Jesus Luzardo has been bumped from a starter to a reliever. Mike Fiers recently suffered a setback in his rehab and it’s unclear when he’ll return. Former Yankee James Kaprielian has been a pleasant surprise in the rotation filling in, but the A’s don’t even know how much longer he can go. He’s already at 57 innings pitched on the season and hasn’t thrown more than 68 frames in a single year since … 2015.

There lies a need for more rotation depth.

As for the bullpen, outside of Lou Trivino, Jake Diekman and Yusmeiro Petit, there aren’t many more viable options. Sergio Romo has been OK, so has Deolis Guerra. The loss of Trevor Rosenthal was significant. The A’s will need more high-leverage arms if they want to last through August and September and dance in October. Green’s ability to be deployed in just about any inning will be a match made in heaven for A’s manager Bob Melvin.

There’s the need for bullpen help.

Throw in the fact that Monty and Green have cost-effective salaries in 2021 and beyond, and this could be right in Billy Beane’s wheelhouse.

Josh Hader #71 of the Milwaukee Brewers (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Josh Hader #71 of the Milwaukee Brewers (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

1. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brew Crew! A fun team to root for. But could this really be their year? They made a brilliant trade with the Rays to import Willy Adames and have managed to weather a poor (and injury-filled) Christian Yelich season to take a 6.5-game division lead into the first week of July. Not bad!

But in a loaded NL, they’re going to have to get better whether they like it or not. And what better way to do so than to further stock up your pitching assuming you’re heading into a postseason featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and/or Cincinnati Reds?

The Brewers’ strength is pitching; however, there are a few issues. Their two left-handers (Eric Lauer and Brett Anderson) may not last into the postseason. Lauer has thrown a grand total of 61 innings over the last two seasons and Anderson strikes out too few batters and gives up way too many hits to trust down the stretch and into the postseason.

As for the bullpen, yes, it’s stacked, but they just dealt Trevor Richards to the Blue Jays and are relying on guys like Hunter Strickland and Brad Boxberger to eat up innings. Nothing against those guys, but Boxberger’s WHIP has been problematic for the previous three seasons and Strickland hasn’t been consistently good since 2017. On top of that, Devin Williams and Brent Suter, though effective, have concerning WHIPs of their own. Far too high to keep the blood pressure low in the postseason.

Monty’s been the second-best starter on the Yanks while Green has been the second-best reliever. The Brewers have made moves to address their offense, so perhaps we’re to expect David Stearns to fortify the minimal holes on the pitching staff. Again, not entirely likely, but worth keeping an eye on.

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