Two-time All-Star Miguel Montero joined the Toronto Blue Jays Monday after being traded by the Chicago Cubs.
July 3 (UPI) — Two-time All-Star Miguel Montero joined the Toronto Blue Jays Monday after being traded by the Chicago Cubs.
The Blue Jays are getting Montero and cash in the deal while sending a player to be named later or cash to the Cubs.
Montero, 33, was hitting .286 with four home runs and eight RBI in 44 games this season for the Cubs before being designated for assignment last week. The demotion came after Montero criticized Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta.
The catcher is a career .260 hitter, with 124 home runs and 542 RBI, in 12 seasons. He played the first nine years of his Major League Baseball career for the Arizona Diamondbacks before joining the Cubs in a 2014 trade.
“It really sucked because the stolen bases go to me, and when you really look at it, the pitcher doesn’t give me any time, ” Montero told reporters last week. “So, it’s like, ‘Yeah, okay, Miggy can’t throw nobody out.’ But my pitcher [Arrieta] doesn’t hold anybody on.”
Arrieta seemed to forgive Montero for the comments.
“I love Miggy, ” Arrieta told MLB.com. “As you guys know, he’ll say some things from the heart and he’s open and honest. That’s the way Miggy is. I think he regretted what he said, he felt bad about it. I told him I’m not upset or mad at him.”
The Cubs are using 2016 call-up Willson Contreras as their catcher.
FanRag Sports reported Wednesday that the Blue Jays were interested in Montero to back up Russell Martin. The Cubs are responsible for the remainder of Montero’s $14 million this season, which should come in at about $7 million.
Chicago has lost four of its last six games.
