The Yankees announced that right-hander Frankie Montas has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 17, due to right shoulder inflammation. In a corresponding move, outfielder Harrison Bader was reinstated from the injured list, a move that had been previously reported.
Montas, 29, was acquired from the A’s just prior to the trade deadline in early August. He had dealt with some shoulder inflammation in July and ended up missing just over two weeks. He received a cortisone shot and returned to make two more starts for the A’s before the deadline. The Yankees were evidently not satisfied enough with the results to go ahead and pull the trigger on the deal.
Unfortunately, the move to the Bronx hasn’t gone smoothly for Montas so far. Though he had a 3.18 ERA at the time of the trade, he’s registered a 6.35 mark since donning the pinstripes. His 25.8% strikeout rate with Oakland has been replaced by a 17.8% mark with the Yankees. It’s possible that the shoulder issue is playing a role in all of this, as his fastball velocity dipped in July, perked back up in August, before dipping again here in September. Montas tells Marly Rivera of ESPN that the current issue is similar to what he experienced last time and he has received another cortisone shot. Manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media (video from Rivera) and said that Montas will be shut down from throwing for about 10 days and could still ramp back up for starter’s work in what’s left of the season.
The last time Montas went down this path, he pitched on July 21, his first start since July 3. In that return start, he threw 53 pitches over three scoreless innings. He followed that up with 78 pitches over five innings on July 26 and then was traded before his next start. With just over two weeks now remaining on the schedule, that leaves a tight window for Montas to return, assuming he’s even able to follow a similar schedule this time around.
For the Yankees, this will put a dent in their rotation depth for the remainder of the season and potentially into the postseason, depending on how Montas heals. Despite a rough second half, they still have a 5.5-game lead over the Blue Jays in the AL East and are well-positioned to earn a bye past the first round of the playoffs. That would give them more time to get Montas built back up, assuming they are able to hang on over the coming weeks. In the short term, the Yankees are expected to get Luis Severino back from his own IL stint tomorrow, per MLB.com, while Boone says that Domingo Germán will be rejoining the rotation on Saturday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Those two will slot into the rotation alongside Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes and Jameson Taillon. In the long term, though Montas was acquired with the hope of being a key contributor for the Yanks in the playoffs, it’s now uncertain how much of a role he will play there.
Oh Frankie not again c’mon…
Unfortunately saw this coming. Had shoulder issues before the trade…. Was happy the Cardinals didn’t cough up what the A’s wanted and boy this guy Montgomery sure has been good
We could use Macgomery now what was Cashman thinking?
He wasn’t thinking, that’s the issue
The Montas deal is fine, but yes, getting Bader for no reason when you have Hicks+Florial and you give up an important SP is a horrendous trade. Should have been Montgomery+a prospect for Liberatore and Bader.
They don,t hit
That would have to be one heck of a Yankees prospect to get Libatore & Bader back from St. Louis.
Neither does the rest of the roster outside of Judge.
But the reason that they felt they could trade Montgomery was because they expected Montas to be something that he appears not capable of being. And HIcks has been arguably the worst position player getting regular playing time in the majors this season. Florial hasn’t exactly looked good either this season when he’s been called up.
The Montas deal is fine for the A’s, a disaster for the Yankees.
I feel like “cashman” should become a term that is used to describe bone-headed GM decisions. Example. trading for Montas hasn’t worked and is just plain cashman.
smd – It doesn’t help when 40 of Judge’s 60 HR are solo shots.
By comparison, only 30 of Ruth’s 60 (batting 3rd) were solo shots.
Only 33 of Maris’ 61 (batting 3rd, 4th, 7th) were solo shots.
Can’t wait to see if Judge continues to hit leadoff in the postseason.
The rationale is that he gets more at-bats by leading off.
FPG: I hope you’re doing well, sir! I’m conflicted on this issue. I get the logic of having Judge get more ABs batting leadoff, but, imho, Bader should leadoff, Judge 2nd. Why? Because Bader hovers around .250, but he’s a capable hitter with some pop, and speed. Batting Bader first gets a speedy guy up first and on the base paths. It also provides for Bader getting much better pitches to hit given that Judge is hitting right behind him.
Just my thoughts on the matter. But, it’s no surprise to me if LeBooner bats Judge leadoff and Bader 7th the whole way through.
That’s correct Mantooth, Mozeliak don’t mess around
I’d hesitate to move him back to the two hole because he’s put up his best numbers leading off. His SLG is nearly 200 points higher. His numbers are crazy batting first through third, but they’re still best batting first.
fangraphs.com/players/aaron-judge/15640/splits?pos…
Yes, but, the real reason is that lead off batters get pitched to more, because there are good hitters coming up. If you bat him lower in the Yankee lineup he will get pitched around a lot more. Most lead off hitters get more pitches to hit than 3 and 4 hitters. So Judge can hit more home runs but have less runners on base. But a home run is a run. So you can’t completely fault the logic of Dr. Boonedoggle. This time.
Hm, I didn’t do a deep dive – which is embarrassing because that actually is the most relevant aspect of where Judge bats. I didn’t realize that.
What’s more interesting to me is what Coney said on the broadcast: Judge has seen less pitches in the strike zone than any other player this year, and yet, he’s still doing what he’s doing. It’s incredible!
Thanks for the info, and I agree then – leadoff it is. And it’s not like Judge is a base-clogger either.
Seeing less strikes actually makes it easier for him to know when to swing. He is great but I think pitchers have done a terrible job pitching to him. But he sure knows how to hit them where they ain’t.
Nobody wants to put the first batter on base, especially when he can steal a bag like Judge can. Then you’ve already put your pitcher in a hole and pressurized him and the defenders behind him.
Montgomery and the pitcher they gave away for montas are both in majors. Cashman is a follower. He has no business gm of yanks
And you do
Sears has pitched better than Montas, wouldn’t say he is an all around better pitcher but has pitched to five or six wins with the A’s. That doesn’t account for the other two pitchers the Yanks lost in the deal, that’s looking like a bad trade.
Bader could work out well for the Yanks in center, could of been the trade the only good trade the Yankees made. He is on a good contract in ’23 and the Yanks will probably get him to extend. I think Montgomery is a future Ace though, a lot to give up for a center fielder with one year on his deal.
I still believe the worst Trade the Yankees made was for Benintendi who is a FA at the end of the season, he would of had big bucks coming his way at the end of the season if it wasn’t for the hamate bone injury and now he is looking at two to three years on a 30M dollar deal, and at best a deal similar to Avisail Garcia. The Yanks lucked out a bit with the wrist injury in terms of signing Benintendi to a new contract.
Those pitchers the Yanks lost to the Royals aren’t all scrubs, Beck Way throws the heater and has a great change up, Chandler Champlain is a 6’5, 220 righty.
I disagree on the Montgomery trade. As a Yankees fan who follows every game, Montgomery was slipping and slipping fast. He was getting to the point of giving up four runs a game if not more. The only reason he looks good is he is pitching in a very weak division.. He gets the Reds, Cubs, and Pirates for 19 games each. In the Al East he has to deal with much better hitting teams.
Now, I like the Benintendi trade because I think he is what the team needed–a high average guy who gets on base a lot and plays a good defense. Also, he’s a lefty. The Yankees tend not to have these guys and any good team needs them. If DJ wasn’t hurt and giving you 2020 numbers then you may not of needed this trade but he’s not. I hope they bring him back. As far as the prospects they lost for him, that’s always a matter of opinion and you could be right on that point. However, the team needed Benintendi since Gallo was a bust and Hicks is about as bad as you can get.
@bwmiller…just a point of clarification: the A’s are 3-3 in games Sears has pitched. He’s pitching to a 9.75 ERA in September. Montas has been bad, but not that bad.
@Darth…totally agree that the “future ace” Monty was sliding. He had a 4.61 ERA in July. I liked Monty as a very solid 4, with an upside of a 3 if he can develop consistency. He’s faced the Cubs, Nats, Reds (and Yanks…ugh) and done well. ATL touched him for 5 in 5 and MIL 6/4 earned in 5+. That’s not someone I’d trust against playoff teams. A healthy Montas could have maybe been one to trust, but it’s not looking good…
Well you could say Cole was slipping fast too because I recall Cole getting shelled more than a couple times, and you’d consider him an Ace.
Montgomery doesn’t have the big arm like Cole but he is a tall Lefty, and he has only issued 34 walks in 168 innings on the season while striking out nearly a hitter an inning, those are nice numbers, and nice to have a lefty who pitches with command.
I didn’t realize Sears had made that many starts with the Yanks before being traded and didn’t lookup his stats but he obviously can pitch a little, and most were saying Waldichuk was the big name in the deal, but I’ve watched Montas and when he is on he has good stuff, so for the Yanks to upgrade in that respect for a run this season is understandable.
All the trades were logical except Benintendi who was icing on the cake, and that’s why that was the bad trade of the three, in my opinion, especially with how well Matt Carpenter was hitting at the time.
It will be interesting to see which of the six pitchers the Yanks traded away has the best career. I’m going with Beck Way.
I thought Sonny Gray was on the Twins
It’s his brother from another mother.
Better on the IL than on the mound.
See, he’s not THAT bad…(plus he’s basically only faced the best offenses so far as a Yankee).
No, he is not that bad. But he wasn’t brought in to face lousy offenses in October.
As an A’s fan myself, I don’t care what he does for the Yankees, but they can’t be happy with his work (or health) so far
Both New York teams pussyfooted at the trade deadline. Haha.
Looks like both NY teams melting with injuries, poor Maxey Pad was taken out after 6 last night.
There’s soiled 40 million bucks.
LOL
This is either sarcasm, or you are the stupidest person on the planet. Scherzer threw a 6-inning perfect game with 10 Ks.
These Anti-Mets trolls are almost as annoying as the pro-Mets trolls now.
Lol
Scherzer was on a pitch count in his first start back from a second stint on the DL. Ended up getting his 200th career win to put the Mets in the postseason.
We Yankees fans are going to have a longterm hangover from this trading deadline. Ugh. Continues a trend of overpaying that began its current cycle in the 2021 trading deadline.
I get what you mean but it’s kind of actually because they want to underpay.
If the Yankees were willing to pay they would have just offered that 2nd guaranteed year to Verlander (aka the current Cy Young award front runner) this past offseason and they wouldn’t have needed to trade anyone from Montas.
Waldichuk and Sears haven’t done much on other side either , so lose- lose for both teams in the trade
Difference is Sears and Waldichuck weren’t acquired to win the World Series this year, Montas was. This hurts the Yankees because Montas (somehow) made Montgomery expendable and now the Yankees have neither and Montgomery has thrived in St.Louis while Montas has struggled in New York so its lose/lose for the Yankees on both deals (though Trivino has pitched well out of the bullpen since the trade)
Montgomery wasn’t expendable as one would think. Dodgers went out and sucked up a bunch of pitchers to be part of their short-term rotation / Bullpen and they’re seeing success from that. Doesn’t matter if the guy throws 1 inning or 6, you’ve got options. Now we’re seeing that the Yankees are now restricted and limited on the number of pitchers they have and the last few months are a great example.
There’s no such thing as too much pitching depth. Montgomery wasn’t a spare piece. He has out-pitched Jameson Taillon and Luis Severino (who is now injured). A good argument could have been made he’s better than German is right now.
Let’s not get too overheated with respect to Monty and the success he’s having so far……it will take longer than a couple of months to really gauge exactly how he works out for St Louis…..the real issue here is that Cashman was hunting for Castillo and ended up settling for Montas and missing on Lopez which would have been another disaster that thank God didn’t happen……you have to wonder why Cash didn’t wait until the off season to make a trade for Bader if in fact he’s the answer in CF longer term…….after all, his medicals had to scream that he was in fact hurt and very suspect to return at all this season…..lots of questionable options but again the main one was that once again, Cashman main target (Castillo) escaped his grasp and he “settled” for a pitcher coming off an injury and targeted him to be the #2 in the rotation……
There is no loser in this trade, at least not yet. Only three of the five total players in this deal have even played in the majors and none have even plyaed 8 games for their new team. Both Cooper Brown and Luis Medina aren’t even at Triple-A yet. How about we give it a year before we declare a winner/loser?
Am far from a Yankees fan, but that sucks…for them and Montas.
I’m a so-called fan. A guy who is supposed to not know what GMs and industry insiders with ‘experience’ all know
So how did it take me 20 seconds to see Montas was not something you want to trade for?
This among countless other evaluations I’m right about and the insiders are wrong about
#1, it’s utterly obvious that in higher competitive arenas like NYC he’d get shelled. It’s not Oakland. That was obvious. The stuff wouldn’t translate out of Oakland. Obvious this would happen
U know how ridiculous you sound
No more Oakland pitchers.
When the Yankees are in the playoffs and Benintendi is back, and they have a GG leftfielder, a GG Centerfielder in Bader with Judge in RF and those guys are taking away hits and saving runs that win games, will anyone care who the Yankees gave up to get Benintendi and Bader?
If they’re not holding the trophy at the end, yes. Yes we will.
The chances of Benintendi being back this season is not good. The standard recovery from surgery to repair a broken hamate bone is 6 to 8 weeks. Assuming that he had surgery immediately after it happened he’s looking at 4 to 6 weeks. from today to recover., The regular season ends in 2 weeks so he’s definitely going to miss that. 4 to 6 weeks means he’s set to return 10/20 to 10/31. The ALCS is projected to end on 10/26 (and that’s only if it goes to a game 7). Realistically chances are probably not good that he’ll be able to recover and return to form until at least some time during the World Series..
I thought the Montas trade was okay but it was sad to Sears go. I though he had a future with the Yankees. One reality of being a Yankees fan is it’s not uncommon for players to stink when they get here. The jury is still out on Montas because of the injury but we’ve seen many busts. Sonny Gray and Joey Gallo are the two most obvious. This is just the way it is.
Now, my advice would be if the team doesn’t win it all, which I would say is not happening, then the team needs to go into a full rebuild. It’s getting impossible to build a winner through the free agency. The franchise hasn’t had a losing season in 30 years so they never get the top draft picks all the other teams do. They need to reboot and get those picks and hope they get another core. Once they have these players then free agency is nothing since the Yankees can outspend any team as long as the player wants to go there. To me this is the only way forward if they fail to get the crown this year.
Never trust former A’s starters.
I dunno the Mets seem to have done pretty well with the former A’s starter they traded for.
Hard disagree here: had they just signed Verlander or Scherzer and Correa or Seager, they’d still have the pieces they traded for Donaldson, IKF, Montas, Bader, and Benintendi.
They also could have dumped Gallo and Hicks for prospects, with or without Montgomery.
That would have left them with a TON of resources to acquire high-end prospects and/or Soto/Castillo.
All Hal had to do was spend and not spend $35M on Donaldson and IKF.
Like I always say: The Yankees work really, really hard to save money they should spend on the right people, only to spend it later anyway, just in the wrong people, and it usually ends up costing more.
Should have went after Rodon.
Any chance the Yankees have to win the WS, depends on Stanton. The team is heading into the playoffs with a flawed rotation and a lousy pen. However, if Judge, Rizzo, and Stanton are healthy simultaneously, the Yanks have a shot.
You’re right and I agree, but I think Gleyber is almost as important. When he is right he can have a big impact on that lineup too (obviously not quite what Stanton does).
Once in a while an ump calls a good game and I can forget why I want the computerized strike zone — then I watch an ump like this guy tonight and I remember why I’m sick of these guys drastically affecting the course of a game.
I hope the ridiculous policy to make Bader cut his world-class hair doesn’t have the Samson effect.
Well, no sooner do I say that than he gets his first RBI.
Never mind. ; )
Montas the best 6.35 ERA player, the Yanks ever had.
G.Cole and Taillon beside the hitters are a disaster after AS and you add Montas, yankees are a survivers
As we bid goodbye to Aaron Hicks.
Seriously, I don’t hate the man; I just hate his game. Bader is already a breath of fresh air, long may he run.
Seeing him fly around the bases was incredibly refreshing, wasn’t it? I still think the trade was bad timing with trading Monty, especially for an injured Bader, but for the future, I look forward to a Yankee CF with Bader patrolling.
This whole situation is turning into a worst case scenario for Bader. The extended absence, plus Montgomery’s strong play, plus the Yankees’ second half struggles, are going to make a tough environment even tougher. And while I’m not saying Bader is mentally fragile, he has shown sensitivity to criticism in the past. I hope he hits the ground running and New York doesn’t eat him alive.
He already has. He’s 2-3 with three RBI in his debut.
Holmes is cooked. A half-season wonder.
Montgomery would be nice at this point.
What a game, what a game! What a crowd, what a crowd!
Time of game: 3:33 — the game where Judge tied #3 with 60 HR. Pretty cool stuff.
I was standing during the Stanton GS at-bat!!!
Brother, that was epic! Hopefully, it’s what the Big G needed to get his head right.
Judge blasting the bomb was so anticlimactic, comparatively, because they were losing. He’s too humble to celebrate the achievement while they’re losing. He celebrated Stanton’s walk-off far more, which is indicative of the type of person, professional, and leader he is. SF Giants will be lucky to get him next year.
I hope it gets Stanton going, but I think what he needed was a battery dumb enough to throw him a changeup when he’s shown no ability to catch up to a fastball lately.
I don’t know what’s going on with Holmes.
Me neither, but he needs to figure it out.
I am trying to remember the original article when the trade went through, but I’m nearly positive Forst or Beane may have audibly whispered, “no trade-backsies” so I think the Yanks are SOL on this one. It reminds me of the almost Marlins deal – my sources told me Kim Ng agreed to the deal but with her fingers crossed behind her back. Cashman got cooked this trade deadline, it happens sometimes. There’s always 2029 to look forward to.
And, with the most recent move to send Andujar down, Aaron Hicks gets one giant step closer too an unearned postseason roster spot……..