Fresh off a World Series win, the Houston Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million deal to upgrade the team's only clear weakness at first base. They were expecting big things by handing a hefty contract like that out, but Abreu struggled so mightily to the point where he was DFA'd and eventually released halfway through his deal. This turned out to be one of the worst contracts in Astros history.
Just two weeks prior, the Astros gave Rafael Montero a three-year, $34.5 million deal to fortify their bullpen. Montero was coming off an excellent 2022 campaign but hadn't done much in his MLB career prior to that. Sure enough, Montero reverted to being the subpar pitcher he always was, and even wound up getting DFA'd in July of last season.
The Astros gave Montero a chance to stick around and win an Opening Day roster spot, and he has done that, according to KPRC-2 Houston's Ari Alexander.
Source: RHP Rafael Montero has made the #Astros Opening Day roster. pic.twitter.com/7COp3mZPvy
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) March 23, 2025
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Astros give Rafael Montero another chance to justify brutal contract
To say the Montero contract hasn't worked out would be an understatement. He was signed to be a late-game arm, but has been more valuable when he hasn't been used, which is crazy to say. Montero has been worth -0.4 bWAR in his two seasons with the Astros, proving to be less valuable than a replacement-level player.
Rostering him at this point feels like nothing other than a last-ditch effort to get something out of the contract. The Astros do have a slew of pitching injuries, so it makes some sense that they're going this route, but it's not as if his spring training performance (4.15 ERA in eight appearances) should be enough to "earn" him a spot.
The leash with Montero is going to be exceptionally short. Chances are, Montero is going to get the first couple of weeks in low-leverage situations to prove that he belongs. If he pitches well, he can buy himself more time. If not, that should end this experiment. The Astros were willing to cut Abreu, so they shouldn't be shy to do the same with Montero, a player making nowhere near as much money as Abreu was.