Montañez was drafted by the
Chicago Cubs with the third overall pick of the
2000 MLB draft.[1] He spent seven seasons in the Cubs'
farm system but never made it to the major leagues.
On January 5, 2007, Montañez signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.[2] After
batting .335 with 26
home runs and 97
RBI in 116 games for the Orioles Double-A affiliate
Bowie Baysox, he was called up to the majors for the first time. In 2008, Montañez won the
Eastern LeagueTriple Crown despite missing nearly a month of the season after getting called up to the majors.[3]
Baltimore Orioles
Montañez made his major league debut on August 5, 2008,[4] playing an inning defensively and without making a
plate appearance.[5] The next day, he hit a
home run in his first major-league
at bat,[a] making him the second Oriole to accomplish the feat, the first having been
Buster Narum in 1963.[9] After starting the 2009 season playing for the Orioles
Triple-A affiliate,
Norfolk Tides, Montañez was recalled to the majors on April 21 after an injury to
Ryan Freel.[10] On November 10, 2010, Montanez became a minor league
free agent.
Chicago Cubs
Montañez signed a minor league deal with the
Chicago Cubs on January 12, 2011.[11] He was called up from the
Iowa Cubs on May 24, 2011 and was in the lineup that night at
Wrigley Field against the
New York Mets. His first at-bat resulted in an RBI double.[12] He elected free agency on November 28.
Late career
Montañez was signed to a minor league contract by the
Philadelphia Phillies on December 21, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training.[13] He began the year with Triple-A
Lehigh Valley. On May 4, Montañez was released.[14] On May 21, Montañez signed a minor league deal with the
St. Louis Cardinals and was assigned to Triple-A
Memphis. In 101 total games that year, Montañez hit .241 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 359 plate appearances.[15]
^Both
MLB.com and
Baseball-Reference.com list Montañez's debut as April 28, 2008,[6] in a
suspended game that was subsequently resumed and completed on August 25, 2008.[7] Although Montañez only entered the game as a
pinch hitter on the latter date,[7] the game is recorded as having been played on the day it started (April 28). The
Elias Sports Bureau still credits Montañez with a home run in his first MLB at bat, however, because he was not in the major leagues on April 28.[8]