Francelis Montas Luna (born March 21, 1993) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. Montas signed as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in 2009, and was traded to the White Sox in 2013. He made his MLB debut in 2015, and was traded to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

after the season. After missing time due to injuries, the Dodgers traded Montas to the Athletics during the season. Montas established himself as a major league pitcher for Oakland in 2017, and was traded to the Yankees in 2022. Montas split the 2024 season with the Reds and the Brewers, and signed with the Mets for the 2025 season.

Career

Boston Red Sox (2009–2013)

Montas signed as an amateur

with the

in 2009, receiving a $75,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He played in the minor leagues for the Red Sox' organization for the

Gulf Coast Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior t ...

and

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

in 2012, and for the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

in 2013.

Chicago White Sox (2013–2015)

Before the 2013 trade deadline, the Red Sox traded Montas and fellow minor leaguers

J. B. Wendelken Jeffrey Benjamin Wendelken ( ; born March 24, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the San Diego Padres organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks, and ...

and Cleuluis Rondon to the

in a three-team trade, where

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who is currently an on-air analyst for MLB Network. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, ...

went from the White Sox to the Red Sox, José Iglesias went from the Red Sox to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Avisaíl García Avisaíl Antonio García Yaguarin (; born June 12, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, ...

went from the Tigers to the White Sox, and

Brayan Villarreal Brayan Rene Villarreal (born May 10, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He is 6'0" tall and weighs 170 pounds ...

went from the Tigers to the Red Sox. The White Sox assigned Montas to the

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte, and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. ...

, also in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. Montas began the 2014 season with the

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He was named to appear in the 2014

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

, but suffered an injury to the

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) In physics (particularly liquid statics), the meniscus (: menisci, ) is the curve in the upper sur ...

in his knee which required surgery, and withdrew from the game. After rehabilitating, Montas pitched for the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Southern League. He finished the 2014 season with a combined 5–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 1.44

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. The White Sox assigned Montas to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the 2014 season. On November 20, 2014, the White Sox added Montas to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. In his first major league

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, Montas threw his fastball between . He returned to Birmingham for the 2015 season, and threw a seven-inning

no hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine ...

on June 9. He appeared in the

Southern League All-Star Game The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in t ...

and the

. The White Sox promoted Montas to the major leagues on July 17, 2015, to be their 26th man during that day's doubleheader. He returned to Birmingham the next day without appearing in either game. The White Sox promoted Montas again on September 1, and he made his major league debut as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

the next day.

Los Angeles Dodgers (2016)

On December 16, 2015, Montas, along with Micah Johnson and

Trayce Thompson Trayce Nikolas Thompson (born March 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Boston Red Sox organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athl ...

, were traded to the

as part of a three team trade that sent

Todd Frazier Todd Brian Frazier (born February 12, 1986), nicknamed "The Toddfather", is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Texas Ran ...

to the White Sox and

José Peraza José Francisco Peraza Polo (born April 30, 1994) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman and shortstop for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles ...

, Brandon Dixon and

Scott Schebler Scott Anthony Schebler (born October 6, 1990) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Angels. Amateur career ...

to the

. On February 12, 2016, the Dodgers announced that Montas underwent rib resection surgery and would miss up to four months of the season. He made his first appearance of 2016 with the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

of the Class AA

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

on May 22. After a couple of rehab appearances for the Drillers, he was assigned to the AAA

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

. He aggravated his rib injury and further testing concluded he had a broken rib and he would miss a month or two of the season recovering.

Oakland Athletics (2016–2022)

On August 1, 2016, the Dodgers traded Montas,

Jharel Cotton Jharel Leandre Cotton (born January 19, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, and San Francisco Giants, and in Nippon Profes ...

, and Grant Holmes to the

in exchange for

Josh Reddick William Joshua Reddick (born February 19, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. The Boston Red Sox selected Reddick in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB draft, and he made his major league debut in 2009. He also played in Ma ...

and Rich Hill. After not getting a call to the majors in 2016, he appeared in 23 games for the A's in 2017, allowing 25 runs in 32 innings (7.03 ERA), while compiling a 1–1 record. For the 2018 season, Montas reverted to being a starter, beginning the season at the AAA level. He appeared in 13 games (11 starts) with the A's during the season, compiling a 5–4 record with a 3.88 ERA. On June 21, 2019, after starting the season 9–2 with a 2.70 ERA in 15 games (all starts), Montas was suspended 80 games without pay for testing positive for a banned substance,

ostarine Enobosarm, also formerly known as ostarine and by the developmental code names GTx-024, MK-2866, and S-22, is a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) which is under development for the treatment of androgen receptor-positive breast canc ...

, in violation of MLB's

Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program Major League Baseball's drug policy—the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program—was established by agreement between the MLB Players Association and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. The goal was to deter and end the use of ban ...

. In 2020, Montas began the season as the A's Opening day starter. Through the season, Montas struggled with command as he recorded a win–loss record of 3-5 and an ERA of 5.60 in 11 starts. On February 19, 2021, Montas was placed on the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

related injury list after testing positive for the virus. He finished the 2021 season with a 13–9 record, a 3.37 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 187 innings, finishing sixth in American League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

voting. On March 22, 2022, Montas signed a $5.025 million contract with the A's, avoiding salary arbitration.

New York Yankees (2022–2023)

On August 1, 2022, the Athletics traded Montas and Lou Trivino to the

for

JP Sears Jonathan Patrick Sears, known online as AwakenWithJP, is an American conservative YouTube comedian. Sears produces satirical YouTube videos where he parodies lifestyle gurus, wellness coaches, and government policies. Biography JP Sears was ...

Ken Waldichuk Kenneth Dieter Waldichuk (born January 8, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Waldichuk attended University City High School in San Diego, California. He earned Fi ...

, Luis Medina, and

Cooper Bowman Cooper John Bowman (born January 25, 2000) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Athletics organization. Amateur career Bowman graduated from Stevens High School in Rapid City, South Dakota. While attending Stevens, he played Am ...

. He made his first start with the Yankees on August 7, allowing 6 runs in 3 innings. On January 14, 2023, it was announced that Montas would likely miss the first month of the season with right shoulder inflammation. On February 15, it was announced that Montas would require arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and would miss the majority of the 2023 season. He was activated from the injured list on September 30. He became a free agent following the season.

Cincinnati Reds (2024)

On January 2, 2024, Montas signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the

that also included a $20 million mutual option for 2025. Reds' manager David Bell announced that he would start for the Reds on Opening Day. For the Reds, Montas had a 4-8 record with a 5.01 ERA across 19 games started.

Milwaukee Brewers (2024)

On July 30, 2024, the Reds traded Montas to the

in exchange for

Jakob Junis Jakob Benjamin Lee Junis (born September 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Milwauke ...

Joey Wiemer Joseph Daryl Wiemer ( ; born February 11, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. Wiemer was ...

, and cash considerations. In 11 starts for Milwaukee, he posted a 3–3 record and 4.55 ERA with 70 strikeouts across innings pitched. On November 4, Montas declined his option for 2025, becoming a free agent.

New York Mets

On December 4, 2024, Montas signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the

including an opt-out after the 2025 season. On February 17, 2025, the Mets announced that Montas had suffered a high-grade lat strain and would be shut down for 6–8 weeks. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 1.

Personal life

Montas and his wife, Nicholette, have two children . He graduated from Dawere International High School in 2024.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montas, Frankie 1993 births Living people Arizona League White Sox players Birmingham Barons players Brooklyn Cyclones players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic sportspeople in doping cases Dominican Summer League Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Leones del Escogido players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Baseball players from San Cristóbal Province Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Syracuse Mets players Tulsa Drillers players Winston-Salem Dash players