When the Seattle Mariners traded for Jesus Montero two years ago for pitcher Michael Pineda, both the Yankees and the M's felt that they got the best end of the deal and now that the Biogenesis scandal has hit the catcher with a 50-game ban, it's clear that the Yankees won this one.
The Mariners were embarrassed to have to send Montero down to the minors this season, but he has been awful as a hitter and even worse as a catcher and now the main reason why they got him (power hitting, nice bat for average) isn't even happening, this is another total disaster for the Mariners, possibly on the level of Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb.
Montero was suspended along with Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Antonio Bastardo, Jordany Valdespin, Sergio Escalona, Fernando Martinez, Cesar Puello, Fautino De Los Santos and Jordan Norberto and now his future with the Mariners is fully in doubt, as he is not that great of a hitter and can't play catcher at all. If Pineda looks good coming back from the surgery he had last year for the Yankees, the M's front office will look very foolish again.
Pineda is on his way back from an injury and while Montero has been awful, at least he is young and at 24-years-old he has time to work things out. Montero will be able to finish out his suspension this year since he is on the M's roster and after dealing with injuries and poor play, he will be happy to put the 2013 season behind him. Last season he was solid with hitting .260/.298/.386 with 15 homers and 62 RBI in 515 at-bats, but now he is looked at as a pretty big failure after this latest issue.
