Reds trade Montas to Milwaukee for Junis, Wiemer

CINCINNATI – Initially signed in the offseason to be a veteran rotation boost for a Reds club hoping to contend in 2024, starting pitcher Frankie Montas will instead help a division rival down the stretch.

Montas was dealt to the National League Central-leading Brewers on Monday before the Reds wrapped up their 7-1 win over the Cubs at Great American Ball Park. It was the club's second trade of the day ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, after earlier acquiring first baseman Ty France from the Mariners. Cincinnati received right-handed pitcher Jakob Junis and outfielder Joey Wiemer in return, plus $1 million in cash.

The deal was announced on Tuesday morning.

"We had a pretty good handful of teams that were interested," Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said of Montas. "At the end of the day, this was a deal where we could get back some guys that help us right now in the big leagues and also help us in the future in the big leagues.”

TRADE DETAILS
Reds receive: RHP Jakob Junis, OF Joey Wiemer, cash
Brewers receive: RHP Frankie Montas

Montas was already informed that he was being traded and was absorbing the news.

“I’m definitely sad," Montas said. "This is a team that helped me a lot. This is a team that I feel like this is what I was looking for. This is the toughest time I’ve had leaving a clubhouse, to be honest. I’ve been traded many times, but the relationships I created here, they welcomed not just me but my family and kids. Definitely tough.”

Montas was scheduled to start for the Reds vs. the Cubs on Tuesday. The club has not named a replacement.

“We’re going to miss him a lot," Reds manager David Bell said. "He wasn’t even here very long and he just became such a big part of our team. It’s like we’ll be missing a family member or close friend. We understand how the game is. It doesn’t make it easier."

On Jan. 2, the Reds signed the free agent Montas to a one-year, $16 million contract for 2024 with a $20 million mutual option for 2025 ($2 million buyout). The deal provided the 31-year-old with an opportunity to rebuild his resume after he missed almost all of 2023 with the Yankees recovering from right shoulder surgery.

Immediately, Montas fit in and his veteran influence was felt since the earliest days of Spring Training. Later in camp, he was named as the Reds' Opening Day starter.

"His impact has been tremendous in such a short period of time with us," Reds All-Star starting pitcher Hunter Greene said. "I actually shed a few tears, and I know I wasn’t the only one."

Although mostly healthy for Cincinnati, Montas had inconsistent results while going 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts this season. From April 22-May 7, he was on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm contusion from being hit by a comebacker vs. the Angels.

Montas began well for the Reds, posting a 0.77 ERA over his first two starts and throwing seven scoreless innings vs. the Rockies on June 4 at Colorado. But in the eight starts since, he went 1-4 with a 6.41 ERA and didn't complete five innings in either of his last two outings.

With the Reds at 51-55 and five games back from the final National League Wild Card berth, the front office decided to move the playoff-experienced Montas and get a return before he headed back to the free-agent market.

Montas did not rule out returning in the upcoming offseason.

“A hundred percent. This is a team I would definitely love to come back to," he said.

Coming back to the Reds is Junis, who was coming off a productive 2023 season in the Giants' bullpen when he signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Brewers that included an $8 million mutual option for 2025 ($3 million buyout), with the intention of pitching in Milwaukee's rotation.

But Junis’ shoulder struggled to handle the load, and he missed time in Spring Training before landing on the IL after only one start in April. His comeback was delayed because of a scary moment in Pittsburgh on April 22, when he was struck on the side of the head by a batted ball in batting practice while running in the outfield at PNC Park.

Since coming off the IL in late June, Junis has pitched as a multi-inning reliever, working at least two innings in each of his nine outings. He has a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings overall.

"Junis is somebody we can slot into our bullpen at this point," Krall said. "It adds a little length to our ‘pen. It’s something we just felt it was important for us to do.”

The key to the deal was the 25-year-old Weimer. He is under club control through 2028 and a former high-end prospect for Milwaukee after being its fourth-round Draft pick in 2020 out of the University of Cincinnati. In 437 plate appearances in the Majors over the past two seasons, he has a .201/.277/.349 slash line.

A 6-foot-4, 226-pound outfielder who has the speed for all three positions and had a long run as Milwaukee’s center fielder in 2023, Wiemer worked this spring to simplify a violent swing that has many moving parts. He’s spent most of this season with Triple-A Nashville, where he has a .745 OPS.

“A premium defensive center fielder. He’s got some power," Krall said. "Obviously, a lot of guys liked him ever since his days at UC. We always thought he had a chance to be a solid Major League player.”