Montas highlights three pitchers acquired to help bolster Brewers

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook goes all the way back to 2014 with Frankie Montas, the veteran right-hander set to join Milwaukee’s rotation this weekend in the wake of a Trade Deadline deal with the Reds. Montas was a White Sox prospect playing in the Arizona Fall League, and Hook was the team’s pitching coach.

The thing Hook likes most about Montas is the same thing he liked about the Brewers’ other July trades for starter Aaron Civale and reliever Nick Mears, as Milwaukee pushes for a sixth postseason appearance in the last seven years.

“The thing about Frankie is he’s been there, he’s done it,” Hook said. “There’s not a moment that’s going to overwhelm him. And we know what we’re getting. That’s important at this time of year.”

After Milwaukee lost, 5-1, to the Braves on Tuesday night, Montas is expected to throw a side session on Wednesday before joining the Brewers’ rotation later this week in Washington, D.C. He was originally scheduled to start for the Reds on Tuesday in Cincinnati.

The 31-year-old was 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts with the Reds, including 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in his last three starts.

“I think his repertoire and our defense, and the situation we’re in, might bring him to an even better level,” manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s shown flashes of brilliance.”

Said GM Matt Arnold: “He’s in front of a different defense here, different ballpark, different environment, and we really like his stuff. And, frankly, the person.”

The Brewers had similar expectations for Civale, who went from a 5.07 ERA with Tampa Bay to a 4.29 ERA in his first four starts for the Brewers, and Mears, whose 5.56 ERA pre-trade was colored by the fact he was pitching home games in Colorado. In a scoreless Brewers debut on Monday night, Mears struck out a pair of hitters in a dominant inning.

“When you bring up a guy from the Minor Leagues, you don’t know,” Hook said. “But with these guys, you have a track record, and I think that’s super important. If we’re going to go far in this, we need to send out guys when we know what we’re going to get.”

Arnold professed to be satisfied with the Brewers’ trio of July pitching additions and said the club also had trade talks about hitters. But unlike last year, when pre-Deadline trades for first baseman Carlos Santana and outfielder Mark Canha paid major dividends, this year the Brewers would have had to take at-bats away from their young stable of hitters -- Milwaukee has the second-youngest position player group in baseball -- in order to add a veteran.

“It is a big factor for us,” Arnold said. “Any time you have young players, they’re going to go through their ups and downs. But as they get their opportunities here, I think that’s a good thing for them and their future here with the Brewers.”

So, Arnold & Co. settled for adding pitching to a run prevention unit that just got All-Star closer Devin Williams back from the injured list on Sunday, and veteran starter Joe Ross back from two months on the IL with an eight-hit, five-run, five-inning start against the Braves. With Montas joining the mix, and two off-days coming in the next week, the Brewers will have to assess where Ross fits in the pitching picture.

“I felt good physically, so that’s great,” said Ross, who was in a hole after allowing five hits and four runs in the third inning. “It’s more about executing at this level. You can’t get away with too many balls over the middle. That’s what happened today.”

The Brewers also have two young arms knocking on the door of the Major League bullpen in left-hander DL Hall, who is once again nearing a return from the IL, and top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski, who was promoted to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday and will transition to the ‘pen.

That move with Misiorowski has two benefits. One, it controls his workload as he approaches what Arnold characterized as a loose innings limit. Two, like Corbin Burnes six years ago, it prepares him for a potential late-season call-up to the Major League bullpen.

“I want to be cautious with a young player like that, especially one with the pedigree that Misiorowski has,” Arnold said. “He’s got a tremendous ceiling for us, and we’re moving him to Triple-A to find out what he can do and to potentially help us in the second half.”

Milwaukee went into Wednesday night with a seven-game lead over the runner-up Pirates and Cardinals in the NL Central standings.

“We believe in the group we have, first and foremost,” Arnold said. “The ability to add multiple starters and a reliever we like a lot, I feel like we accomplished what we had hoped to at this Deadline.”