Houston Astros Outright 10-Year Veteran to the Minors

He's a 10-year major league veteran, who even served time as a part-time closer for the Houston Astros as recently as 2022. But now, after being DFA'd earlier in the week, right-handed reliever Rafael Montero has now cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A.

Rafael Montero cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple A Sugar Land.
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) August 3, 2024

The reliever has struggled the past two seasons, this year with a 4.70 ERA while having his strikeout percentage plummet, to just 5.4 K/9, about half of his 10.6 K/9 just last year.

Montero, after finishing 2022 with a 2.37 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and 14 saves, along with helping the Astros to the World Series, was signed to a huge 3-year, $34 million contract that offseason, which, at the time, made him the fourth-highest paid reliever in all of baseball.

It was clearly a mistake. He posted a 5.08 ERA in 2023, allowing a .279 batting average against, and an .858 OPS. This year hasn't been much better. Overall, he has a 4.94 ERA over 105.2 innings since signing that rich contract.

The 33-year-old will now see if he can rejuvenate himself in the minors. He has a career 4.71 ERA and 30 saves.