The Detroit Tigers made multiple moves at the trade deadline to help them make a postseason push. One of these deals involved trading for Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Rafael Montero in exchange for infield prospect Jim Jarvis.
This move did not garner much attention, as he had shied away from the elite reliever role he held with the Houston Astros in 2022. One of his biggest problems over the last few years has come with his fastball, and Detroit is doing its best to fix it.
Montero mentioned to reporters that he has been practicing his fastball grip with a marked baseball. The ball included a permanent line surrounding the seams to better show him where to line his fingers on the seam, via Cristian Romo of the Detroit Free Press.
“They gave me a ball like this to keep my fingers in place for perfect rotation, and it’s been helping me a lot.”
The Tigers’ staff is looking to regain Montero’s rotation on his fastball. Just like with rotation on a breaking pitch, pitchers want to maximize their rotation to give their fastball late movement, deceiving the opposing hitter.
Rafael Montero points to previous postseason experience
Rafael Montero knows he is not the same pitcher he was in 2022, but he is working to get back there. He is keeping his head up while he works to return to that level and is looking to help the team in any direction he can.
“I’m keeping it positive. I already have a little bit of playoff experience, so I’ll be here to help the team.”
Montero will be one to watch during the final stretch of the regular season. If he can figure out his fastball grip again, Detroit’s bullpen will not be one that opposing teams will want to face.
