Former Seattle Mariners Closer Rafael Montero Gives up Big Home Run in Winter League
Pitchers and catchers won't report to Spring Training for the Seattle Mariners until Feb. 12. But that doesn't mean that there still isn't baseball to be played.
The Dominican Winter League will soon reach its conclusion with the Dominican Championship League Series underway.
On Jan. 26, Leones del Escogido and Tigres del Licey played Game 6 of the series with Leones holding a 3-2 lead. Tigres forced a Game 7, and it came at the expense of a pitcher Mariners fans are familiar with.
Escogido reliever and former Seattle closer Rafael Montero gave up the game-tying home run to Licey in the ninth inning. Tigres ended up winning the game 7-4. The winner of Game 7 will represent the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series, which begins Jan. 31.
Rafael Montero allowing game-tying runs is unfortunately something we've seen before @MarinerMuse https://t.co/JoAZL7wSY5
— Brady Farkas (@WDEVRadioBrady) January 27, 2025
Seattle fans are well-versed in Montero's late-game struggles.
Montero pitched for the Mariners in 2021 after he was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers on Dec. 15, 2020. He made 40 appearances for Seattle that season and had a 7.27 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched. Opponents averaged .311 against him.
Montero was designated for assignment by the Mariners on July 23, 2021. They executed another in-division trade by shipping him and Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros on July 27, 2021, in return for Abraham Toro and Joe Smith.
Montero has had 15 outings against Seattle since he was traded. In those games, Montero has a 4.08 ERA with 13 strikeouts, one save and a 2-1 record across 15.2 innings pitched.
Montero ended 2024 with Houston's Triple-A club, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. But he received an invite to Spring Training and could make several more appearances against his former club before all is said and done.
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