Frankie Montas trade grades: Who won deal between Yankees-Athletics for starter?

The New York Yankees got their guy on Monday. After losing out on Luis Castillo last week, the Yankees were able to land Oakland Athletics ace Frankie Montas in a deal for a package of four prospects. The A's got LHP JP Sears, LHP Ken Waldichuk, RHP Luis Medina and 2B Cooper Bowman from the Yankees for Montas and RP Lou Trivino. Let's go over grades for the deal and who won.

Frankie Montas trade grades

The only reason the Yankees don't get an A+ is because Montas isn't exactly battle tested. That isn't his fault. Looking at everything else, Montas is the perfect acquisition and exactly what the Yankees need for the postseason. He should slide into the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole. Montas solidifies the rotation for the playoffs. He's also under contract for next season before hitting free agency in 2024.

The Yankees have a ton of depth now with Luis Severino set to come back and Nestor Cortes, Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery. The only question mark is can Montas pitch in the big game in the Bronx and help the Yankees win the World Series in 2022.

The other reason the Yanks get such a high grade is GM Brian Cashman was able to land a top of the rotation starter without giving up any top prospects. Sure, Waldichuk was the Yankees best pitching prospect and is having an amazing season. He also shot up the Yankees prospect rankings and may not pan out. Cashman being able to acquire a starter like Montas without giving up SS Anthony Volpe, SS Oswald Peraza and OF Jasson Dominguez was a coup.

The A's weren't able to get any of the Yankees top prospects in the deal. That could maybe knock the grade down a bit, but the haul was still very nice. Waldichuk was able to climb the rankings to No. 70 on MLB.com's top 100 list of prospects. He's having a pretty remarkable season in AAA. Waldichuk is 6-3 with a 2.71 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. At 24 years old, Waldichuk could be a year or two away from being a very good 1-3 starter for the A's. We could even see him make his MLB debut this season when rosters expand in September.

The rest of the package for Oakland isn't bad too. Sears has spot started for the Yankees this season and had a 2.05 ERA in 22 IP prior to being dealt. Sears could end up being a plus-reliever or work out as a starter. He's also another lefty (along with Waldichuk), which is always a plus. Medina has electric stuff and can touch 100 mph on his fastball. He's only 23 years old and has been starting in AA. Chances are Medina projects as a reliever in the MLB, someone who could end up closing or being a solid setup man.

  
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