Montero eager for fresh start with Toronto
Three years ago, the Blue Jays were interested in signing free-agent catcher Miguel Montero as he prepared to leave the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Montero ended up signing a threeyear deal with the Cubs and the Jays inked a different free-agent, Russell Martin, to a five-year contract. Now the Jays have both.
Mission accomplished, or simply desperate times calling for desperate measures?
There’s been a lot of water under the bridge, some of it undrinkable, since the Jays were first interested in Montero. He was once acknowledged as a leader of men and a good defender. There are now doubts on both fronts after he was designated for assignment, allowing seven stolen bases in a game versus the Nats and throwing shade at pitcher Jake Arrieta. He has an 11 per cent caught stealing rate in 2016-17.
Thus, the leadership and defender doubts.
Cubs president Theo Epstein labelled Montero a bad teammate. First baseman Anthony Rizzo called him selfish. Manager Joe Maddon decided Montero had to go because of the impression it gave to younger Cubs teammates.
The 34-year-old Montero who spoke to Blue Jays media in the dugout at Yankee Stadium before his first game with his new team did not want to dwell on that past. He said he’s fine with Arrieta and they remain friends. He said he’s fine with Maddon, and is now ready to move on and help the Blue Jays win.
“It wasn’t the perfect departure, but it was what it was,” Montero said.
“I lived the moment and I really don’t look back at the past right now. It happened already, it’s over. I’m just worried about today. Whatever happened, happened. Time to forget, just looking forward for a new team and do the best.”
Montero is certainly an offensive upgrade over the man he replaced on the active roster, Luke Maile, who was placed on the 10-day DL Tuesday with an injured knee (although manager John Gibbons wasn’t quite sure which one.) While Maile was 16-13 in a starting role behind the plate, he was hitting .121 with five RBIs.
Montero admitted it was not an ideal way to exit Chicago, that he is an emotional person and the end result was the parting and a new challenge.
“I’m very emotional because I care,” Montero said. “I care for the team. I care for every single guy on the field and I want to win. It’s as simple as that. I hate losing. I guess that’s who I am.
“I just wanted to end up in a place where I can help my team win and I guess I’m in the right place right now. I feel great, mentally, physically, right now and I’m excited to be part of the team and look forward to helping somehow.”
As for familiarity with his new teammates, that is a work in progress. He caught Francisco Liriano’s side session before the game as his first official act. He caught Mike Bolsinger in Arizona and Joe Smith last year with the Cubs. He came through the minors playing against Kendrys Morales, knows Jose Bautista and faced Martin when he was with the Dodgers and Pirates. He left an impression on Martin. “Power threat, dangerous bat,” Martin began. “I haven’t seen him in awhile, but he called a good game. Just a pro, but definitely when he was up to the plate it was, ‘OK, we’ve got to make pitches to this guy because he can (hit a home run) at any time if you make a mistake.’ ”
Gibbons spoke to Montero upon his arrival at Yankee Stadium but said they didn’t speak about the way his Cubs tenure came to an end. The Jays manager did not think it would be an issue moving forward, although he did agree with the sentiment that pitchers are often the main cause of successful steals.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things,” Gibbons said. “When you pick up a guy, baseball’s a big fraternity. You hear from everybody about certain players. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the guy. ‘Great team guy, still very productive and you’ll love him.’ And that’s not always the case when you acquire someone. Somebody’s going to take a jab every now and then. But it’s all been good stuff. It’s just something that happened and I’m not worried about it.”
Gibbons would not commit to when Montero might make his starting debut behind the plate. After sitting out Monday, Martin was likely to start the two consecutive day games in the Bronx, followed by Thursday’s series opener against the Astros.
Then, if all goes well, it will be Aaron Sanchez on Friday night and Marcus Stroman on Saturday afternoon. One of those starts will go to Montero.
“First time in the American League, so I’ve got a lot of things to catch up on,” Montero admitted, followed by his impression from afar of the Jays.
“When you played against them it was a team that was really intimidating because they had really good hitters. As a catcher you don’t have a way out. You have one guy come up and the next guy come up and any of those guys can do some damage. It was tough to pitch to and it’s fun to be with a team that can hit, because I believe it’s contagious. I want to try and be contagious with that.”
Montero can’t possibly be describing the same team that has Jays’ fans desperately frustrated.
But perceptions change quickly in baseball, and the Jays’ front office and fans hope the team’s offence — with Montero in a Toronto uniform — can help shake their current negative perceptions.