There is such a thing as addition by subtraction and when the Atlanta Braves traded Rafael Montero at the trade deadline, the description felt apt. When the Braves struck a trade with the Astros for Montero early in the season, the hope was that the change in scenery would allow Montero to unlock what he had early in his Houston tenure and be a boon to the Braves' bullpen. Obviously that did not come to pass.
In 36 appearances with the Braves, Montero posted a 5.50 ERA thanks largely to consistently inconsistent command that led to some brutal appearances and very notable meltdowns that cost the Braves a number of games. There were a lot of players that played a role in Atlanta's struggles in 2025, but Montero was a big one and one that wasn't missed by most fans.
Montero would go on and actually pitch pretty well for the Tigers, but the Braves are probably still feeling quite good about that deal given how well Jim Jarvis, the return in the trade, is adjusting down in the Arizona Fall League.
Jim Jarvis impressing down in the AFL with his adjustments is icing on the cake for the Braves from the Rafael Montero trade
Jarvis wasn't exactly a highly regarded Tigers prospect when he was included in the Montero trade which, well, explains why he was included in that trade at all. At first glance, his .706 OPS at Double-A before getting hurt on a bizarre HBP that involved a pitch in the dirt hitting him in the face (yes, you read that right) didn't make a strong case that the Braves got a steal.
However, Jarvis apparently used the downtime from his injury to make some adjustments to his swing to improve his admittedly rough ground ball rate. Those adjustments, as well as swapping bats with fellow Braves prospect Patrick Clohisy, appear to be paying off as Jarvis just connected for his first home run in ages.
Again, the Braves would have made the deal to get rid of Montero for a bag of peanuts 10 times out of 10 given the money he was owed and how bad he had been. However, there seems to be an outside chance that Jarvis could actually turn into something in the Braves' farm system. Even if that is only an outside chance, that is a massive win.