After another Rafael Montero meltdown, how long can Astros let this continue?

Dusty Baker protects his players. He stays away from public shaming or scrutiny in most situations by either deflecting difficult questions or displaying unwavering confidence. Talk of José Abreu’s season-long struggles, for example, have been quieted by Baker proclaiming that “water sinks to its own level” or listing the numerous accomplishments in Abreu’s Chicago White Sox career.

Seven days ago, Baker broke from his preferred script. He sent a broken reliever into the belly of a beast and paid the price. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Tommy Pham loomed in the sixth inning of a game Houston led by three. All three of them notched hits against Rafael Montero to start the sixth inning, moving the Mets within a run while prolonging Montero’s miserable season.

“He’s been struggling. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it,” Baker said after the game, which the Astros won 10-9. “You have to take your shot in the sixth when you got four innings to do whatever mishaps that happen versus the seventh or the eighth. You take your shot at some point in time.”

Baker’s bluntness accentuated what now must be more widely acknowledged: Montero is having the sort of season that is impossible to defend. After his latest disaster on Sunday — a blown three-run lead against the Dodgers, forcing his team to play 11 innings before finally recording the win — Montero sports a 7.76 ERA and 1.82 WHIP. No qualified reliever entered the day with a higher ERA. Only two had higher WHIPs.

Montero’s continued presence on the Astros’ roster is perhaps only due to the dumbfounding three-year, $34.5 million contract he received during the Astros’ winter without a general manager. Montero is the sixth-highest-paid active reliever in the sport. All five relievers ahead of him are closers.

Owner Jim Crane, who ran the baseball operations department when Montero signed his contract, now must consider how much longer he can watch his investment implode. Crane does not have a history of eating bad contracts — but also has never had one of this length and value age this poorly.

As long as Montero remains active, the Astros must use him in some capacity. They can’t ignore his presence and risk overworking other relievers. Plus, if Montero is to salvage anything for the remainder of the season or turn his fortunes around, it won’t occur sitting in the bullpen. Montero has to pitch, however painful it might be. Asked after Sunday’s game if he must reevaluate when and how to use Montero, Baker offered another damning indictment of the situation.

“I’ve already reevaluated,” Baker said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “The thing about it is, when am I supposed to use him? If not, you use up everybody else.”

Tailoring Montero’s appearances to either low-leverage or blowout games is one solution, but the Astros don’t score or allow enough runs to create many of them. Houston still boasts the sport’s best team ERA….