The Astros traded right-hander Rafael Montero and $7.7MM to the Braves earlier this week for a player to be named later or cash. The Astros announced today that the PTBNL in that deal is minor league righty Patrick Halligan.
Halligan, 25, was selected by the Royals in the 13th round of the draft back in 2021. He made the occasional start but mostly worked in relief. Over 2021 and 2022, he tossed 85 2/3 innings in the minors with a 5.36 earned run average and was released prior to the 2023 season.
Atlanta signed him to a minor league deal and the change of scenery seemed to helped him. He has since logged 123 1/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA. His 10.6% walk rate is a bit high but he has also struck out 27.6% of batters faced. Last year, he logged 50 2/3 innings, mostly at Double-A but also with some Triple-A work. For the whole year, he had a 3.02 ERA, 31.6% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate. Last month, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs listed the top prospects in Atlanta’s system and gave Halligan an honorable mention, highlighting his splitter as his key to success.
With the Montero deal, the Astros were probably happy just to shed a few million bucks. His contract had quickly gone underwater and they had been trying to trade him for quite a while. On top of saving roughly $3MM, they will take a flier on Halligan and see if he can work his way into their big league bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
I’m not familiar with Halligan, but I hope he works out for the Astros. Montero had a great shutdown inning yesterday in a big moment that helped the Braves get a much-needed win.
Those outs Montero got will be forgotten in the long run, but they were crucial for a Braves team looking to climb out of a hole. Even though it’s early, 2-10 would have been a disaster.
3-9 for a playoff team is still a disaster
It’s really not. Many, many teams have come back from far more than 6 under .500 and made the playoffs. And that was before they handed wild cards out like acid at a Phish show.
The Nats started 19-32 the year they won the World Series.
hey, that’s 3-10 buddy, get it right
The fact they got anything for Montero is pretty good. Even a bucket of fungos would have been a win
His willingness to accept the assignment to AAA, then having a decent showing, and changing his pitch selections up are to be commended. This guy gets a lot of hate but don’t be surprised if he has a good season.
The fungi’s would have been better than what they actually received.
Don’t sign non-elite relief pitchers to long contracts
Shoot don’t sign any RP to long contracts. I’m an Astros fan and that hader contract is gonna hurt them for the entirety of it.
He’s been okay so far. I’m not saying Hader has been amazing, but that contract isn’t a problem, yet. I’m more concerned with the fact that the team is spending $40M on the 1B position and they still can’t find a guy who can hit.
I was looking at that earlier. Montero was consistently awful from 2014-2021, with an ERA+ of 80.
Then he has one great year in 2022.
So the GM decided that Montero had finally “found himself” and gives him 3 years at the age of 32, and promptly goes back to his ERA+ of 86.
The GM was the owner. That’s what happens when you Jerry Jones your franchise
The Astros are more frequently targeting high-potential, undervalued players from organizations that are failing to unlock their talent—whether that’s Halligan, Phil Maton, or even Ryan Pressly when he was acquired. This patient approach to bullpen construction is underrated but suggests a much more holistic, long-term view of pitching depth.
Ryan Pressly was plenty good before the Astros acquired him. Thanks anyway, ChatGPT Jr.
@choof
Appreciate the comment, but Pressly’s case actually proves my point more than it undermines it. Yes, he had solid raw stuff in Minnesota—mid-90s fastball, strong spin—but his results were erratic: a 4.37 ERA and inconsistent command across parts of six seasons. The Astros saw untapped upside in the underlying metrics, particularly elite fastball and curveball spin rates, and transformed him into a top-tier closer almost overnight. He went from a 25.3% strikeout rate with the Twins in 2018 to 38.1% after the trade.
That’s not about surface-level ‘good.’ That’s about identifying misapplied skill sets and leveraging them through targeted coaching and usage—exactly the same framework they’re now applying with Halligan and previously with Phil Maton. So yes, the Astros are very much in the business of reclaiming undervalued arms that other orgs didn’t fully optimize. That’s not ChatGPT—it’s just what the data says.
If they can make Tayler Scott work then I’m a believer
A guy with a 70 grade splitter + the Astros pitching development machine? Not too bad for a salary dump return.