The New York Yankees were dealt a blow at the start of spring training, and it was one that could have been prevented.
Frankie Montas underwent shoulder surgery in February for an injury that was “nagging” throughout the offseason, which called into question why the issue was not addressed before players arrived to camp.
The 29-year-old pitcher gave insight Wednesday as he admitted he was not 100% when the Yankees acquired him from the Oakland Athletics before the Major League Baseball trade deadline last season.
“I was trying to push through,” Montas told reporters, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “I got traded to a new team and wanted to show what I could do. Things didn’t go the way I was expecting.”
New York manager Aaron Boone gave the expectation Montas would be out for the entire 2023 season, but the veteran pitcher said he “for sure” hopes to play this season, according to Hoch. He will resume playing catch in nine-to-10 weeks.
Montas played eight games for the Yankees, and he pitched one game against the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. In those eight games, he pitched 39 2/3 innings, and he struck out 33 batters while walking 15.
The pitcher’s comments certainly don’t paint general manager Brian Cashman in a positive light. New York acquired Montas and Lou Trivino from the A’s for JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk, Luis Medina and Cooper Bowman.
If Cashman knew Montas was hurt, the trade was a big gamble, but if the GM didn’t know the extent of the injury, then it was a miscalculated move.
The Yankees boast a stacked starting rotation in Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Luis Severino and Nestor Cortes, but New York’s season, as it typically is, will be World Series-or-bust in 2023.
