Former All-Star Miguel Montero retires, becomes player agent
Former All-Star catcher Miguel Montero is transitioning from the diamond to the negotiating tables.
Montero, who spent 13 seasons in the major leagues and appeared in four games for the Washington Nationals in 2018, told Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com that he's now the CEO of his own player agency, ZT Sports, and is "pretty much retired" as a player.
Montero is representing 17 players. His most notable client is outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, a five-year MLB veteran who was non-tendered by the San Francisco Giants in November.
Montero told Piecoro that his move to become an agent stems in part from successfully negotiating his own five-year, $60-million extension while a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also believes that his years as a player will help him better represent his clients.
"I can help them," Montero said. "How can I help them change this slump when they're going 0-for-20, the approach to take when that happens? A lot of agents, they never went 0-for-1 because they never played the game."
The 35-year-old retires after putting up a .256/.340/.411 slash line with 126 home runs and 550 RBIs over 13 seasons with four teams, nine of which were spent in Arizona. He appeared in two All-Star Games and remains the Diamondbacks' franchise leader in games caught at 837.
He's perhaps most famous for authoring one of the defining moments during the Chicago Cubs' curse-breaking championship run in 2016. Montero crushed a go-ahead grand slam in Game 1 of that year's NLCS.
He earned over $73-million in salary during his career, per Baseball-Reference.