Rafael Montero signing minor league contract with Yankees to add pitching depth

TAMPA — The Yankees are adding a recognizable name to their bullpen competition this spring.

The club agreed to a minor league deal with Rafael Montero, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed Thursday night, and invited him to big league spring training to see if the veteran righty can win a job.

Montero would earn $1.85 million if he makes the team, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.

The 35-year-old Montero, once a ballyhooed Mets prospect, pitched to a 4.48 ERA across 59 games last season with the Astros, Braves and Tigers, striking out 58 but walking 37 in 60 ¹/₃ innings.

He is four years removed from the best season of his career, when he posted a 2.37 ERA for the Astros on the way to a World Series championship in 2022.

Montero will join a group competing for the last few spots in the Yankees bullpen following an offseason in which the team lost Devin Williams and Luke Weaver and did not replace them with established arms.

David Bednar, Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill are locks for the bullpen, with Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn likely to join them if the rotation stays healthy.

The Yankees are also counting on a bounce-back season from Jake Bird and then are hoping for a few legitimate choices to emerge from a group that includes Brent Headrick, Cade Winquest, Yerry De los Santos, Angel Chivilli, Kervin Castro and now Montero.

“I think it has a chance to be [a strength],” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday. “I think it’s because of our overall pitching depth that I really like. So that may mean a starter having to collapse and maybe somebody that nobody’s writing about at this point that usually, especially in bullpens, seems to always emerge around the league. The bullpen is usually one of the most volatile things that’s hard to predict sometimes.

“There were some big numbers [salaries] attached to relievers this winter, so we obviously had to address different things. You try to allocate your resources the best you can.”