DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers on Wednesday acquired right-handed pitcher Rafael Montero from the Atlanta Braves for Minor League infielder Jim Jarvis.
Montero is a veteran of 11 major league seasons and has participated in a pair of postseasons with the Houston Astros in 2022 (World Series champion) and 2023. During those postseasons, he combined to go 1-0 with a 2.51 ERA (4 ER/14.1 IP) in 15 playoff appearances. The righthander has made 360 career regular season appearances, all but 30 in relief, with the Mets (2014-17), Rangers (2019-20), Mariners (2021), Astros (2021-25) and Braves (2025).
Combined between the Astros and Braves this season, Montero has limited all foes to a .657 OPS and .211 batting average, including a .197 batting average and .631 OPS to left-handed hitters and a .222 batting average and .677 OPS to right-handed hitters. Overall, he has gone 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA (23 ER/38.1 IP) in 39 relief appearances and, with 39 strikeouts, is averaging just better than a strikeout per inning pitched (9.2 K/9.0 IP).
Montero began the year with Houston and made three outings before being traded to Atlanta on April 8. With the Braves, Montero pitched scoreless relief in 25 of his 36 outings and is not far removed from a 13-game stretch from June 8-July 19 during which he pitched to a 1.93 ERA (3 ER/14.0 IP).
The 34-year-old Montero has gone 22-29 with 30 saves and a 4.76 ERA (265 ER/500.2 IP) in his 360 career big league appearances. He made a career-high 71 appearances with the Astros in their championship season of 2022, going 5-2 with 14 saves and a 2.37 ERA (18 ER/68.1 IP), and followed up with 68 appearances for the club in 2023.
Jarvis, 24, is currently playing for Double-A Erie, where he is batting .242 (67-for-277) with two homers and 29 RBI in 77 games this season. He was originally selected by the Tigers in the 11th round of the 2023 Draft.
