The Expos sent Mota to Ottawa to begin the 2000 season. However, he was called up to the Expos on May 20, and in his first game of the season with them, he gave up one run in one inning in an 8–7 victory over the Houston Astros. On June 11, he was the losing pitcher when he pitched inning and gave up two runs in an 8–3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was returned to Ottawa on June 17 after posting a 12.60 ERA in his first 12 games with the Expos. Mota was recalled at the end of the month, but after appearing in one game (on July 1), he was returned to the Lynx. However, he was recalled on July 19 after Tony Armas, Jr. was placed on the disabled list. Mota was returned to the minor leagues on July 27 when Hideki Irabu returned from the disabled list, but he was recalled soon after. However, Mota appeared in only one game before he was again returned to the minors, and he did not return to the Expos again until the beginning of September. At this point, he had a 9.98 ERA through 17 games. On September 11, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies, he got his only win of the year by pitching one-third of an inning in a 7–6 victory. He had a 1.84 ERA over his final 12 games to finish the year with a 1–1 record and a 6.00 ERA in 29 games. With Ottawa, he had a 4–5 record with a 2.29 ERA and seven saves in 35 games.