9/1/26
September 1st is a key date in Major League Baseball as it signals the final month of the regular season. At the same time, rosters expand from 26 to 28 as each team can add one pitcher and one position player to their MLB rosters. It is the last chance to get players on the active roster to make them eligible to be on the postseason roster for those 12 teams that make the postseason.
For the Seattle Mariners, the 1st signified another highly anticipated call-up as the #5 prospect in the organization and the #56 overall prospect in the sport Lazaro Montes was added to the MLB roster. Montes is a 6’5 outfielder has been compared to, and worked out with, likely AL MVP winner Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros.
Lazaro Montes signed as an international free agent with the Seattle Mariners back in January of 2022 as a 17-year-old out of Cuba. Many worried about his evolution as a hitter, but Montes has silenced those doubters in his journey through the minor leagues. In 495 minor league games, Montes has a .915 OPS while batting .265 with a .528 slugging percentage. He has hit 114 home runs and driven in 392 runs and can steal a couple of bases as well. His terrifying power should provide a spark for the Mariners who have seen their home runs totals drop in 2026.
As for the new pitcher on the roster, the Mariners signed lefty reliever Hoby Milner on Tuesday. Milner pitched 35 2/3 innings for the Chicago Cubs this season with an ERA of 3.53. He is a very contact-oriented pitcher and does not walk or strikeout many hitters with just 18 strikeouts and nine walks in 2026. Seattle will be Milner’s seventh team in what is his 11th MLB season. Milner will join Gabe Speier and Jose A. Ferrer as the third lefty in the bullpen.
Both are available for game two in Boston on Tuesday although it is unclear if Montes will be in the starting lineup as of the writing of this story.
west42sports.com