September 1, 2026 — EVERETT, Wash.: Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander announced today that outfielder Lazaro Montes has been promoted to the Mariners’ MLB roster from the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
Montes, a 21-year-old from Havana, Cuba, will make his MLB Debut upon appearing in a game. He is also ranked as the Mariners’ No. 5 prospect and the No. 56 prospect in all of baseball per MLB Pipeline.
The lefty-swinging, righty-throwing Montes has shared time between the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and the Rainiers in 2026. He opened the year with Arkansas, smashing 25 home runs in 79 games to go along with 11 doubles and 66 RBIs. His efforts earned him a promotion to Tacoma on July 7, where he has impressed by drilling 13 home runs and 13 doubles while hitting .274 in just 44 games. Additionally, Montes’ 38 home runs rank second among all Minor League hitters in 2026.
Originally signed by the Mariners as an international free agent January 15, 2022, Montes made his professional debut later that year with the Dominican Summer League Mariners. He found success early on, hitting .284 while tallying 13 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, and 41 RBIs across 55 games. Montes also reached base at a high clip in the DSL, collecting a .422 OBP.
Montes began 2023 with the ACL Mariners of the Arizona Complex League, again showcasing strong hitting tools in his first tour of the league. In 37 games down in the desert, Montes hit .282 while knocking 10 doubles, one triple, and six home runs. He also walked 33 times and drove in 31 runs, recording a .452 OBP. His efforts in Arizona earned him a promotion to the Single-A Modesto Nuts to close out 2023, and he starred in a small sample size of 33 games by hitting .321 in 33 games to complement nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs, and 30 RBIs.
Returning to Modesto to start 2024, Montes showed why a promotion was deserved in the near future by hitting .309 across 65 games, smacking 13 doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs to go with 72 RBIs. The Mariners rewarded Montes’ efforts, promoting him to the High-A Everett AquaSox on June 25, 2024. Montes cooled off slightly in his first taste of High-A, hitting .260 with eight doubles, eight homers, and 33 RBIs in 51 games.
Joining the AquaSox again to open the 2025 campaign, Montes hit .268 in 67 games, collecting 12 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, and 50 RBIs. His efforts earned him 2025 Northwest League MVP honors and a promotion to Double-A, where he slugged another 14 homers with the Travelers to raise his home run total to 32 in 2025.
Upon Montes’ debut, he will be the seventh AquaSox alum to get promoted to the big leagues for the first time in 2026. Montes joins Nick Davila, Colt Emerson, Gabriel Gonzalez, Adam Macko, Curtis Washington Jr., and Brock Rodden as former Frogs to join their respective big-league clubs.
Along with Montes’ promotion, the Mariners have selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Hoby Milner from the Rainiers. In correspondence with the two promotions, utilityman Connor Joe and right-handed pitcher Nolan Kingham have been designated for assignment.
ABOUT THE EVERETT AQUASOX: The Everett AquaSox are the defending 2025 Northwest League Champions and serve as the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Established in 1984, the club has been affiliated with the Mariners since adopting the AquaSox name in 1995. For the latest updates on the 2026 season — including community initiatives and appearances by Webbly — follow the Frogs on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, or visit AquaSox.com. Season ticket packages, group outings, and picnic experiences are available now by calling (425) 258-3673 or by visiting the AquaSox Front Office at 3802 Broadway.
ABOUT MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Minor League Baseball consists of 120 teams across four classification levels (Single-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A) that are affiliated with Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. Fans flock to MiLB games to see baseball’s future stars and experience the affordable family-friendly entertainment that has been a staple of MiLB since 1901. For more information, visit MiLB.com and follow MiLB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.