How Montgomery evolved into Bucs' biggest bullpen weapon

This story was excerpted from Aiden Stepansky's Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH -- As Mason Montgomery saw it, the miraculous streak had to end eventually.

From July 27 to Sept. 24, Montgomery posted 25 straight scoreless outings, the most by a Pirates pitcher since 1900. It ended on the penultimate day of the regular season on a walk-off home run. Montgomery followed up by saving the final game of the year.

Amid the success, Montgomery attempted not to keep count and take the task one day at a time. The results followed, and Montgomery became one of the top relievers in baseball to close out 2026.

From the Trade Deadline on Aug. 3 through the end of the regular season, Montgomery recorded a 1.14 ERA with a 40.9% K rate and 16 saves. Each of the statistics ranked in the top five in MLB for relievers with a minimum of 20 innings pitched over that span. And his save total beat out Cincinnati's Emilio Pagán (14), Milwaukee's Trevor Megill (12) and St. Louis' Riley O'Brien (12) for the most over the final seven weeks.

Just a few years ago, Montgomery was a starting pitcher in the Rays’ farm system. Now entering 2027, he’s emerged as a star closer in Pittsburgh while making one of the team’s weaknesses into a strength.

“I learned that I can have success whenever I stay consistent and I don't try to do too much,” Montgomery told MLB.com. “I think I got in trouble last year because I'd maybe try to be too perfect, and if a guy gets on, I'm thinking, ‘OK, I can't let that guy score.’ Rather than just continuing to stick to the approach and focus on the important thing at hand, which is the next pitch.

“So I found that if I can do that, then I will naturally become more consistent. And I've shown myself this year that my stuff plays. If I stick to the approach, then I will have success and consistency … If you had asked me three years ago, I would not have thought that I would be throwing the ninth inning for the Pirates right now.”

Montgomery had always thought of himself as a starting pitcher through his young baseball career. Then things changed with Tampa Bay in 2024, his third full professional season. He found success in the bullpen and debuted in the big leagues, which he described as a “shock.” Then he made the Opening Day roster in 2025, another “unexpected” accomplishment.

Montgomery saw an immediate improvement once he moved to the bullpen, increasing his velocity by three miles per hour. It was a learning curve to change his routine, but results followed with more strikeouts and far more consistency.

Then came more unexpected news: a trade to the Pirates in a three-team deal ahead of the 2026 season. Montgomery, at first, could have been seen as a throw-in with part of the larger acquisition of his teammate Brandon Lowe, though the Pirates saw plenty of potential in the left-hander soaring past 100 mph.

With veteran southpaw Gregory Soto also added to the bullpen, Soto took the majority of high-leverage spots against lefties across the first half of the season. Montgomery flashed his ability in multiple roles, opening five games, pitching in the middle innings eight times and becoming a back-end weapon later on.

An added two-seam fastball from pitching coach Bill Murphy in mid-June made Montgomery more dangerous. Eventually, Pittsburgh entrusted him as the ninth-inning pitcher. Montgomery recorded his first save on July 11 against Milwaukee. He opened in Cleveland a week later.

Even after recording 18 saves across the final 68 games, Montgomery has never truly been named the team’s closer. All parties involved are just fine with that.

“I see myself as a left-handed reliever,” Montgomery said. “They have control over when I throw, so I do think it's fun closing games. I enjoy it. I take some pride in it. I'm glad I've been able to work and get to this point. But at the end of the day, if they want me to throw in the fifth inning or the first inning, yeah, I'm gonna throw.”

“I don't think of it as closing,” Murphy added. “Yes, he's pitched in the ninth inning a ton, and I think in today's game, if there's a spot in the eighth inning where he's going to face the best hitters, maybe he pitches in the eighth inning. But what I do feel pretty confident saying is he is one of the best relievers in baseball."