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The Houston Astros were surprisingly able to offload Rafael Montero earlier this week after working out a trade with the Atlanta Braves. I guess, when you're tied for the worst record in Major League Baseball with the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox, desperation starts sink in.
The details of the trade were not immediately available, with Astros fans just excited to see Montero exit stage left. But the Braves have officially completed the deal after sending minor-league pitcher Patrick Halligan to the Astros as the player to be named later.
Astros' return in Rafael Montero trade officially revealed
Halligan was originally a draft pick of the Kansas City Royals back in 2021. Selected in the 13th round out of Pensacola State College, Halligan only last two years in the Royals' farm system before signing a free agent deal with Braves.
Atlanta's failed attempt to turn the righty into a starter eventually pushed him back into a relief role where he uses his splitter and a deceptive delivery to get outs. In 2024, Halligan posted the best strikeout numbers of his career. While at Double-A, Haligan punched out nearly 34% of the batters he faced while walking just 9.3%.
Minor-league righty Patrick Halligan is the PTBNL that goes to Houston in the Rafael Montero trade.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) April 11, 2025
His late-season journey to Triple-A was not as productive, and the Braves sent Halligan back to Double-A at the outset of the 2025 season where he's made just one appearance this season. It's highly likely that Houston will send the 25-year-old to Corpus Christi before attempting to deploy him at the upper minor-league level.
This officially closes the books on Montero's time in Houston, and his performance during the Astros' World Series season in 2022 cannot be ignored. Montero was 5-2 making 71 appearances out of the Astros bullpen in 2022. He put together 10 solid outings during the Astros' 2022 postseason run and helped bring a second World Championship.
But Montero fell off a cliff after that. In his 109 appearances out of the Astros bullpen since 2022, Montero posted a 4.94 ERA and walked over four batters per nine innings pitched. He also became severely susceptible to the long ball. Montero's HR/9 jumped from 0.40 to 1.62 and the right-hander saw 19 balls leave the yard during his last two seasons in Houston.
The Astros sent $7.7 million worth of "cash considerations" to the Braves to help cover the majority of Montero's contract, meaning that Houston saved approximately $3 million and picked up a minor-league arm in the process.