John Romano: A move to the pen turned his world around. And turned a lot of heads.

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 11, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Forget the three seasons at Texas Tech. Forget the award he received as the Tampa Bay Rays' minor-league pitcher of the year in 2022, and forget all the starts he made across four seasons from rookie ball to Triple A.

Here’s what you need to know about Mason Montgomery today:

Since becoming a relief pitcher last August, he has struck out almost half the hitters he’s faced and allowed an opponent’s batting average of .169.

End of story.

And beginning of a new chapter.

It really is that simple. Montgomery’s career trajectory changed dramatically after the Rays moved him out of the rotation in Durham late last year and put him in the bullpen. He made 10 appearances in relief for the Bulls before making his major-league debut on Sept. 5.

Montgomery, 24, was a revelation as a reliever. The left-hander ditched his changeup and went max effort on his fastball, which increased in velocity from 93-94 mph to the 97-98 range.

“I was shocked,” Montgomery said. “I honestly didn’t know I could throw that hard.”

“I didn’t either,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Up to that point, Montgomery had vacillated between fringe and intriguing prospect. Drafted in the 39th round by the White Sox out of high school in 2018, he opted to go to Texas Tech and was picked in the sixth round by the Rays in 2021.

Montgomery raced through the Tampa Bay farm system, reaching Triple A in less than three seasons with a cumulative ERA of 2.95 in 60 minor league starts. With a deceptive delivery and good movement, his fastball played better than radar guns showed while his off-speed pitches were noticeably less effective.

Those limitations caught up to him at Durham in 2024 where he found himself with a 0-7 record and a 7.04 ERA in early August.

The Rays approached him with the idea that he might be more effective in the bullpen, where he could survive with just a fastball/slider combo in short stints and not worry about holding anything back.

“I wouldn’t say I was reluctant, but it was a big change. I still wanted to be a starter because it was all I knew,” Montgomery said. “But I was totally fine with it and, after a few weeks, I felt like I found my sweet spot.”

While he dropped the changeup from his repertoire, Montgomery said there were no other noticeable changes. No mechanical adjustments. Not even really a change in mindset. It was simply adjusting to the idea that he could pitch as if the finish line was just a few feet away.

“I wouldn’t say that I was ever taking my foot off the gas when I was starting, but it’s a little easier when you’re only out there for 20 pitches to put everything you can behind every pitch,” Montgomery said. “I’ve never really been too big on making mechanical changes, so I think that’s the obvious answer. Just making the mental adjustment to go out there and throw as hard as I can.”

It’s not often that a pitcher with a 6.26 ERA gets a call to the big leagues, but the transformation was that obvious. And it translated quickly to Tampa Bay, where Montgomery had a 1.86 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings.

It reached a crescendo in Detroit late in the season where he struck out all six hitters he faced in a two-inning appearance.

“Everybody talks about the Detroit outing, which we should because that was as dominant as you’re going to see,” Cash said. “I was just as impressed with the Philadelphia outing when he had traffic on the bases. It wasn’t coming easy for him, strikes were eluding him. But he was able to take a deep breath and find a way.

“The velo, it feels like every time he comes out he’s just gaining more and more comfort with the velocity and the strike-throwing. I’ve got to think it’s hard when you’re pitching at 90-93 and then all of the sudden you’ve got 98 and you’ve got to find a way to harness it. He’s done that pretty well.”

Nothing is official yet, but it seems obvious that Montgomery has a spot reserved for his first big-league opening day. And while he has less than 10 innings of major-league experience, the assumption is he will be pitching late-inning, high-leverage situations. It would not be shocking to see him in contention for American League Rookie of the Year.

“The fastball and slider feel as good as they ever have,” Montgomery said. “It was always intriguing to me to maybe add some pitches to the arsenal but I’m not worried about that right now. No sense wasting a pitch with my third-best option. I don’t know where my ceiling is right now, but hopefully I’m nowhere near it.”

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