Pirates’ bullpen overhaul may have accidentally revealed their closer of the future

The Pittsburgh Pirates spent the trade deadline adding relievers with plenty of closing experience. Somehow, the guy emerging as their best ninth-inning option was already in the bullpen.

Mason Montgomery is making it increasingly difficult for Pittsburgh to avoid the obvious. The Pirates have stopped short of officially naming him their closer, but their actions are starting to say plenty. He has his own entrance video and light show. He has been trusted repeatedly in the highest-leverage situations. And, most importantly, he keeps getting outs.

Montgomery earned the save in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, striking out two in a scoreless ninth. One night later, he entered with Pittsburgh trailing 3-2 and kept the game there, allowing two hits but striking out two before Rafael Flores Jr. and Brandon Lowe went back-to-back off Kenley Jansen for a walk-off victory. That gave Montgomery the win and extended his scoreless streak to nine consecutive appearances.

During that stretch, Montgomery has two wins, three saves, a 0.63 WHIP and an absurd 17:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over eight innings. He has also allowed just four earned runs in 21.1 innings since June 23.

For the season, the left-hander owns a 3.40 ERA with five saves and a 5-3 record across 50 1/3 innings.

Mason Montgomery is emerging as the Pirates' closer of the future

Montgomery's production stands out even more considering what Pittsburgh did at the deadline.

The Pirates acquired Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval and Kirby Yates, giving Don Kelly three veteran relievers with extensive late-inning experience. Yet Montgomery, not any of the newcomers, increasingly looks like the pitcher Pittsburgh should be building its late innings around.

Maybe that wasn’t the plan when the Pirates overhauled their bullpen, but it might not matter. Montgomery has the stuff required for the role, he is handling leverage and his strikeout numbers suggest this run is about more than simply getting fortunate results.

The Pirates also have a significant incentive to find out whether this is sustainable. Unlike the veterans they added, Montgomery could be part of Pittsburgh’s bullpen for years. He remains under team control and won't even become arbitration-eligible until 2028. That makes this more than a nice two-month stretch.

If the Pirates entered the deadline searching for bullpen answers, they may have discovered their most important one without actually trading for him.

Kelly can refrain from attaching the closer label for as long as he wants. Montgomery is starting to earn it anyway.

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