The Detroit Tigers visit the Oakland A's for a rather meaningless doubleheader Thursday, and in Game 2 the A's are starting ace right-hander Frankie Montas in what could be his final start in an Oakland uniform. Montas is widely expected to be dealt by the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline. While he has a very solid 3.26 ERA, Montas has been the biggest money-losing pitcher this year currently active in the majors. Yet the A's are -160 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.
I have to use the disclaimer “currently in the majors” on Montas because Washington's Joan Adon has been the biggest money loser overall at -$1219 in his 14 games, but Adon has been sent back down to the minors. Despite that 3.26 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and 100 strikeouts in 96.2 innings, Montas is 3-9 and has been worth -$1078 on the season because the A's don't score for him – he's received an average of just 2.59 runs of support per game.
That means if you wagered $100 on every Montas start in 2022, you would have lost $1078. Oakland is 3-14 in his starts and that number would be much larger but the A's are almost always underdogs, which makes the price for Game 2 a bit surprising. The Tigers are starting rookie Garrett Hill (1-1, 5.73 ERA) opposite Montas, and Hill was shelled for six runs in his most recent outing. Montas has a 2.67 ERA at home but has just a 1-5 record in Oakland.
If Montas le aves this start injured, that could torpedo his trade value as it's the right-hander's first appearance since he left his July 3 start with shoulder inflammation. The A's never put Montas on the injured list. He is set for free agency after next season and rebuilding Oakland isn't re-signing him, so it's better for the A's to trade Montas as soon as possible for the best value.