When the news broke that the Atlanta Braves had traded for Rafael Montero, the response was understandably muted. While there was a time when Montero was highly regarded as a bullpen arm, he has become more known the last couple of years as having an abomination of a contract that Houston desperately wanted to unload. To say that Braves fans weren't excited to have that money on the team's books now is a bit of an understatement.
However, the details of the trade itself did put fans' minds more at ease. The Astros are still responsible for the bulk of the money owed to Montero with Atlanta on the hook for a little less than $3 million which is basically nothing these days. The only remaining question was who the player to be named later being sent by the Braves was going to be.
Somewhat surprisingly, we have already found out the identify of the PTBNL as it was announced that Atlanta was sending Patrick Halligan to Houston to complete the trade.
Minor-league righty Patrick Halligan is the PTBNL that goes to Houston in the Rafael Montero trade.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) April 11, 2025
Braves send relief prospect Patrick Halligan to Astros to complete Rafael Montero trade
Normally, it takes a while for PTBNLs to be named as they are usually lower level prospects. Typically, the two sides in a trade agree to a list of names for the acquiring team to choose from and said team takes their time evaluating them before settling on the player they want.
However, Houston seems to have settled on Halligan very quickly. Given the Astros' bullpen depth concerns and the fact that Halligan is already in Double-A while being a very productive reliever, it is easy to understand why.
Originally drafted in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Royals, the Braves scooped Halligan up as a minor league free agent before the 2023 season. Since then, Halligan has steadily risen through the minor leagues as a reliever who can give a spot start here and there and throw multiple innings while missing bats. Walks have been a bit of an issue and his ERAs have been decent at best, but he still seeming has the tools to be a useful depth arm.
With that, the Montero trade is complete and time will tell if Atlanta made the right choice here. Montero's first appearance with the Braves went well, but he is going to have to put together a sustained run of success before the many doubts surrounding him are going to be quieted.