PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s one of those rare occasions where as a 20-something, you start a new job in a new city you’ve never even been to. That’s what it will be like for Pirates reliever Mason Montgomery when he’s on the North Shore April 3 for the Home Opener.
Montgomery is the left-hander acquired as part of the Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum trade with Tampa Bay earlier in December. He’s not only never pitched at PNC Park, but never been to Pittsburgh.
The 6’2”, 205-pounder was drafted by the Rays in the sixth round in 2021 out of Texas Tech. He was a starting pitcher for his whole career until last year at AAA, when Rays management decided to try him as a reliever.
It’s changed his career.
“The initial reaction was indifferent,” Montgomery said with Pittsburgh reporters Tuesday. “I wasn’t for or against it, I think it was just something that was new and I didn’t know how to tackle it. I luckily settled in pretty quickly and had some success early on in that relieving role in AAA. Ultimately got to debut and spend the last three to four weeks in Tampa.”
“It’s pretty clear that’s probably the best thing that has happened to me as far as my career has gone.”
The numbers for his first MLB season in 2025 out of the bullpen-57 appearances, 1-3 record, 5.67 ERA, 46 innings, 27 walks, 63 strikeouts, 1.65 WHIP. After giving up three runs in an inning on June 7 against the Marlins, his ERA was 5.91. He was able to work that down to 4.76, but in his final game in 2025 he gave up five runs in two-thirds of an inning to shoot the ERA up over a run.
From July 7 until that last appearance, a 2.40 ERA with 21 strikeouts to seven walks in 15 innings.
The 25-year-old also saw the velocity improve hitting 100mph for the first time. Montgomery credits offseason work and strength training.
As a starter he believed his career was road blocked and he was searching for answers, now he has a fresh approach.
“Whenever I moved to the bullpen, it opened up my mind,” Montgomery said. “It changed my mindset a little bit from a marathon mentality to a sprint. Like, hey, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to have 25-30 pitches, so let’s just give it all you got for 30 pitches. There is no need to make your arm last or work around guys or whatever it might have been.”
He's been a two-pitch lefty to this point and while he will be working to refine his four-seam fastball and slider, he may add. Montgomery said he might look at a bigger breaking ball and maybe a changeup, something to change speeds. The Texas native will see how its working in spring training, which is now just over two months away.
Next to veteran Gregory Soto, Montgomery is in position to be the other lefty in the pen. In what likely will be his first full season in the majors, he also will get to learn from Soto and others.
“It's really cool,” Montgomery said. “I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to even be considered for a role like that. It's exciting. I think it'll be fun. I think it'll be lots of opportunity, and it'll be cool to kind of see how it goes transitioning organizations.”
And he might even like his new home, beyond the initial weather shock.