The Yankees are expected to be without starter Frankie Montas for the first month of the season as he deals with shoulder inflammation, per a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman reports that Montas is about 8-10 weeks behind in his off-season training. Montas and the Yankees avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $7.5MM contract for 2023, a number which Heyman notes would have been higher were it not for the shoulder concerns.
While there’s no indication that any sort of surgery is on the cards for Montas, there’s nonetheless a fair degree of concern here, particularly given Montas struggled down the stretch last summer and ultimately went on the IL with shoulder inflammation to finish the season. The Yankees activated him ahead of the ALCS, and he pitched one inning of relief in that series.
Montas, 30 in March, was one of New York’s big deadline additions last summer, but he struggled mightily after coming over from Oakland. He’d been a highly effective starter on the rebuilding A’s, working to a 3.18 ERA over 104 2/3 innings (19 starts) for Oakland. That came with strong peripherals, as Montas walked just 6.6% of batters while maintaining an above-average 25.8% strikeout rate.
It was a different story in pinstripes though, as Montas was rocked for six earned runs in his debut against the Cardinals and finished with a 6.35 ERA across eight starts with the Yankees. Most notably, Montas saw his strikeout rate plummet to 17.8%, while also experiencing an uptick in walks from earlier in the season.
Prior to joining the Yankees, Montas had been an ever-reliable starter in Oakland. Across 401 innings between 2018-21 he worked to a 3.57 ERA, maintaining strong walk and strikeout rates. That also included a difficult pandemic-shortened season where Montas struggled, like many major league players, to the tune of a 5.60 ERA over 11 starts.
With a number of quality seasons under his belt, and with one-and-a-half seasons of team control remaining, Montas was one of the most sought-after trade targets last summer. The A’s, in the midst of a rebuild, were happy to take offers, and wound up agreeing to a deal with the Yankees, acquiring Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears, Luis Medina and Cooper Bowman for Montas and reliever Lou Trivino.
For the Yankees part, they saw Montas as an effective starter who could deepen their rotation ahead of a playoff run, and also contribute in 2023. While a May return for Montas still affords him plenty of time to be a major contributor to the Yankees in 2023, it is concerning that he doesn’t seem to have been able to shake the shoulder problems, and there would have to be fears of this lasting deeper into the season.
For now, the Yankees rotation is still in solid shape. They have a formidable front four of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino. Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt are the obvious internal candidates to handle Montas’ starts in the meantime. German worked to a 3.61 ERA over 72 1/3 innings last season, while Schmidt was used largely as a reliever in the big leagues, working to a 3.12 ERA over 29 appearances. He made eight starts at Triple-A in 2022, pitching to a 3.27 ERA in that time.
This trade just gets better by the day!
Yankee gonna Yankee!
Trivino better be darn good this season otherwise Waldichuck, JP Sears(his namesake videos are very funny)and Medina will haunt the team for the longest time
yes….when they look at the pitching they traded to get Montas, they can kick themselves because Montas basically did nothing to impact the Yankees upon arrival in NY, and if the Yankees had that young, controllable pitching, they very well could be speaking with the Pirates about Reynolds…….frustrating!
That’s why we have German and Schmidt. The Yankees should be fine for a month or so. I imagine German will start, and Schmidty will come out of the pen.
@Captain, likely. It’s all fine if Montas is back at some point in May, yet why do they think he will if he’s been dealing with this inflammation for six months?
@LordD99- It’s definitely concerning and interesting regarding the inflammation, and he’s(Montas)dealt with it before. Hopefully it’s not the rotator cuff. Yanks probably just playing it safe for now. With these power throwers like Sevvy it’s scary with inflammation though. Hopefully as you say Montas will be back by mid-May and at full health. We’ll see my friend. Hope all is well.
Captain, remember the German Messerschmitt?
Looks like Montas is the Messer part.
Montas second suspension coming soon. Cheaters cheat. It’s what they do.
Except that the Yankees do have a long history of massively rewarding cheaters, I don’t really see why they made this trade.
Oh wait, the guy is massively overweight and they love those guys. Then they scratch their heads at their proclivity for getting injured.
Brilliant.
Clarke Schmidt is a bust. Last season, he couldn’t be trusted in a relief role and the Yankees spent the season trying to stretch him out. All indications are that he is not a starter. The is just some more over-hyped AAA depth piece. Add this to the list of Estevan Florial and Aaron Hicks.
Obviously Arod, I’ll even give you Pettite, even though Astros signed also and it wasn’t a huge contract. But what other positives post Mitchell report. You often use blanket statements for your distaste of Yankees with little evidence or sourcing.
Florial hasn’t gotten enough consistent ABs. Schmidt i think is a RP or 5th starter at most. Not sure why Hicks is in this convo
@Roc- My guess is Reynolds is going to get traded to the Rangers for a combination of Owen White, Brock Porter, Kumar Rocker/Cole Winn. Even with Waldichuk and Sears there’s no way the Yankees would of had those kind of pitching prospects available for Reynolds that Texas wants. Reynolds could always be traded towards the trading deadline, if he’s even traded at all. No reason while German and Schmidt can’t hold the fort in the rotation as a #5 for a little while either.
They can still get Reynolds if they want. They are choosing to hold their prospects. Do you guys even know what you are talking about before commenting here? I see the dumbest comments about baseball on this site.
@OnlineFeatures- The Yankees have the prospects for sure to acquire Reynolds. That said Volpe, Peraza, Dominguez, and Wells will not be in a trade for Bryan Reynolds. Besides the Pirates want young pitching prospects that are ready or close to the majors, not top prospect position players. So yes the Rangers have a better chance to get Reynolds. How are these comments dumb? Smh
And if Cashman were willing to trade those players he would have Luis Castillo instead of Montas and none of this would be an issue right now
@Rsox- Cashman offered Dominguez, Waldichuk, Sweeney and Sears for Castillo. Apparently the Reds are trying to trade some of their shortstop prospects, for an outfield prospect like Jasson Dominguez already. The Reds would of been better off taking that package for Castillo. They blew it!
Besides the Yankees are not going to trade their top prospects. They’ve been holding onto them for a reason. They think they can be installed in the lineup for years to come cheaply
I think that the recent signing of the Sabean and Manaya(sp) is to evaluate the young prospects and see who to keep and who to trade.
The Pirates want too much for Reynolds. You’re overrating the value of what the Yankees gave Oakland. Plus, I not a fan of Reynolds. I don’t think he’s that good.
Bright Side: I think I’m a bit more bullish on Reynolds than it sounds like you are, but I agree, Pitt wants too much. It’s their right to ask the world, I just prefer the Yankees don’t pay it. I wouldn’t even mind a small overpay, but not what they’re asking for him right now.
Yeah, getting better if your name is David Forst.
The Brian Cashman special: Acquire a young second rate SP with promise but no established track record as a solid pitcher, instead of paying a bit more in prospects for the legit big arm available.
Guy is so terrified to lose a trade while the other side wins that he won’t take any risks to add real difference makers that cost top prospects. A cowardly GM can’t build a champion.
If Cashman ran the Cubs, they’d have Torres and still be ‘cursed’ because he would’ve been too scared to move him for Chapman.
Chapman almost choked-away a WS from the Cubs.
The Cubs rode Champman like a bronco the entire playoffs. They don’t win without him. I am sure he was gassed down the stretch.
Not sure that applies to Montas. Saying he had no track record of success is a bit of revisionist history there. In hind sight it doesn’t look like a great trade, but that was far from obvious when the trade was made.
A’s have one of (if not *the*) best parks/locations to pitch with the huge OF dimensions, huge foul ground, Bay Area weather plus small fan base and media attention. The Yankees have exactly the opposite of above.
That’s a tough transition for any pitcher; let alone one with a barking shoulder.
He’s certainly not alone. Famous Yankee pitching transitions that didn’t quite work out include big names like AJ Burnett, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, and everyone’s favorite Carl Pavano.
Don’t forget and Sonny Gray, Javier Vasquez, but that was more mental than park related.
Spot on with the park, I’m sure they do or should, do basic analytics park comparison on batted balls. I am not big on pitchers from Oakland
Wacha Wacha
Michael Wacha is available.
Good for Wacha, the Yankees don’t need him. He can go elsewhere.
Cap, I don’t want him either, I was just making a funny from rundmc comment.
@Perksy- whew glad to hear you say that. Wacha isn’t that bad. Pretty good stuff, he could definitely help some team out there looking for a #5 starter.
And all of us wonder why there arent more trades.
Fan-fn-tastic!
You take your chances with trades or free agent signings.
That’s why I get a kick out of the folks that think you should get rid of prospects, because they are risky. Veterans and free agents are also very risky.
where Frankie?
oh yeah, he hurt again
lmfao couldn’t happen to a better team tho! suck it spankees!!!
And yet the Yanks will still make it to the postseason… what about your team?
And a playoff exit. Getting there isn’t enough. With their payroll, they should be getting farther.
Who’s to say they won’t get farther?
The Astros
The Cashman Era does…
Coming from a Sox fan? You guys can’t even get out of the cellar with that huge payroll
@steven st croix- The Astros lost Verlander though, right? Are you telling me their better then they were last season? Who’d they replace him with? Lmk and thnx.
Hehe. That made me laugh.
Montas didn’t pitch much at the end of the year and only made 1 appearance in the playoffs, so he’s basically been resting his shoulder for 3-4 months now. It’s very concerning that his shoulder inflammation has not subsided by now. They say he’s 8-10 weeks behind in his off season training which probably means he hasn’t been able to throw the ball off the mound yet. Being ready by May seems very optimistic if that is the case. Hopefully this injury won’t require surgery but it really doesn’t look good for Montas right now.
Even if Montas has to have surgery, which would be unfortunate the Yankees still have German or Schmidt to be their #5 in the rotation. Montas has dealt with this inflammation before, so hopefully it’s minor and there’s no structural damage.
I’m not disagreeing but I only mentioned it because Yankees were the topic. Who knows with the Sox
Hey Cap. I’ll go ahead and say it, just to talk ball- maybe Hunter Brown doesn’t quite ‘replace’ Verlander, but I’m thinking they don’t skip much of a beat with him pulling up their 5 spot. Potential Rookie of the Year material? Just game recognizing game, I’m definitely not an Astro fan.
I think brown won’t come close to replicating what verlander did last year. He may have a strong year, but I don’t think it will be dominant.
Kinda what I’m saying, Ma. Will Brown go 18-4 with a 1.75? Will the Astros win 106 again? Probably no on both points, but maybe 16-8 with a 3.33 for Brown and the Astros win 102? Not outside the realm of possibility…
Yeah, that would be a great first full year for him. And that would keep them at the top of the division if everyone else stays healthy.
The Astros improved their lineup by replacing Gurriel with Abreu. Meanwhile, the Yankees are bringing back the same sad lineup. Verlander turns 40 and the Astros young starters have proven that they can shutdown the overrated Yankees offense.
16-8 with a 3.33 for the number 5?!? That’s an ace on a staff. That would be quite a feat for a rookie with a pitch count. Not saying it can’t happen, as nothing is outside the “realm of possibility” – not probability, that’s another conversation I guess.
Bustedstuff881 hour ago
where Frankie?
========================
Hollywood?
Relax.
Bustedstuff, cheering injuries says more about you than the Yankees.
“Spankees”
Clearly MENSA level intelligence was required to come up with that scathing insult!
Big opportunity for Clarke
Knowing the Yankees, it’ll be German filling in.
If Clarke Schmidt could find the strike zone, he’d have stuck in the rotation by now. Until proven otherwise, he’s just another overhyped prospect whom Cashman should have moved a year ago.
I think Schmidt will have a break out season in the bullpen, and will be starting in 2024. If not this season at some point. We’ll see.
Season starts in April…..WTF?
Maybe Houser? Brewers have a boat load of back of the rotation starters
Good suggestion, I’d be in on him for sure. But, the Yankees would not trade for him. There’s a requirement that 85% of their trades must be an overpay for under-performers.
In all honesty though, what would it take to acquire him from the Brewers?
But Wandy has worked out well for you guys!
Yes. Wandy has been really good, man. That was a good acquisition.
Houser is a FA in 25, so given there’s two years of control, and the Brews are competitive now, it would take quite a lot to pry him away.
Yanks are going to need 2 starters in 24, now is the time to trade for Cabrera of the Marlins. They could move O Cabrera or Torres for him.
But isn’t Cabrera the one the Marlins won’t move? I may not be recalling correctly.
No they’re willing to move Cabrera for sure. They won’t move Perez.
Ah, okay, thanks MA. My mistake.
Tigers will discuss Eduardo Rodriguez and fill your OF problem atvthe same time with Austin Meadows…for the right price! Peraza, Chapparas and Austin Wells could start the conversation.
Not happening. Nobody wants Austin Meadows, the Tigers can keep him.
Yanks will need a written guarantee that Eddie won’t ghost them like he did the Tigers last year.
Well, that’s another extension guarantee for Cashman.
This shoulder thing with Frankie isn’t going away. He’s at, what, 60%-70% ramping up for ST and experiences a flare-up. Surgery is inevitable. Time to ring up Ryan Weber again.
Yes, and the comment in this article that he was a “reliable” pitcher for the A’s is incorrect…..he was hurt well prior to the trade and was being weaned back into the rotation by pitching very very limited innings (3,4,5) in consecutive games…..looks like Cash’s best buddies….Billy Beane took him to the train station once again!
Good catch Rocky. He had only 9 innings in July before being traded, and they weren’t pretty.
@YBC- Let’s stop panicking now about Frankie Montas, please! He’s a #5 in this rotation at best. He’ll probably be back in a month in a half. No worries my friend.
@Capt99 I’m usually an optimist but also a realist. The Yankees are shutting him down waiting for the inflammation to subside before making further prognosis. May is the soft target return date. If his shoulder is flaring up again now going through low-effort routines, I don’t think he’s going to survive the season.
The greater concern is who they gave up for Montas and how they could’ve better used those prospects to address real needs right now. Similar to the money blown in Donaldson. I don’t get it. Or, I would’ve been just as happy to have increased prospect haul, acquired Castillo, and extended him.
In the extension note, who here thinks the Yankees will extend Bader now instead of putting all the leverage in his court in FA and leaving themselves without adequate CF coverage? I don’t. And it will be another mistake because of their self-imposed budget.
Where did it say they were Shutting Him Down? I read he was 8-10 weeks behind in his Off Season Prep
I’m only presuming that he has been throwing and now can’t anymore with the inflammation. When he picks up the ball again, he’ll need that 10 weeks to be ready while missing ST.
I was at the game for his debut. Liked what I saw and subsequent games. Good attitude and a hustler in the OF. I could see a similar Hicks contract, of which, even with Hicks at the time, I don’t think was a bad contract.
You don’t give up Monty for 1 season control of Bader.
Kim Ng – it’s Brian Cashman on line 1.
Montas is their 5th starter. I don’t see them trading for a starter even if Montas is out for the season. German and Schmidt can easily cover the 5th spot.
Take it from a blue jays fan you need more than 5 or 6 starters to get through a 162 game season. Lack of depth will bite you in the ass in a hurry.
They should sign T. Bauer. Don’tworry about Cole or the PR
The Yankees should just stick to signing guys and developing some. They don’t seem to do too well in trades for major league talent. Texas has the opposite proble.: they trade MLB talent for guys who don’t work out.
The point is exactly who medically are conducting these medical exams and can be SO WRONG….this isn’t the first time the Yankees traded for a player and then had to put them on the shelf due to a prior injury from the club they traded with……and they say nothing about it.
So the Yankees should trade their prospects for the Rangers’ ML talent?
When rebuilding, yes. Gallo, for instance.
I don’t blame Cashman for trading for Gallo. The Yankees really didn’t give up anything to get him. I would have done same myself. Gallo is a left hitting GG LF who can draw walks. Player like that, the reward is worth the risk.
Figured it was a good idea since you said they’re both bad at trades like that. Maybe they’ll cancel each other out.
No thanx, no more trades with Texas.
Lol!
How about Stanton and Pereza for Semien, though? It’s MLB for MLB and MiLB. It solves many issues for Texas and gets NYY the shortstop they wanted. MLB.com (as stupid as it sounds) said to trade Seager for Volpe, though I know that is never going to happen.
Like I just said no more trades with the Rangers. Lol!
Technically they don’t do well in trades with the A’s. Cashman really should consider losing Billy’s number and blocking him as a contact
I’m always wary of A’s starting pitchers. That said, like Gallo, Montas was worth the risk. The Yankees gave up Rule V minor leaguers for him.
The Nate Lowe trade was great for them
The Nate Lowe trade has absolutely nothing to do with the Yankees, A’s or this topic period.
However, so far yes, Nate has worked out well for the Rangers so far
Tigers aren’t shopping those two while their value is at its lowest, nor are the Yankees going to pay top dollar.
Usually inflammation is a euphemism for Tommy John surgery shortly after. He’s better off getting it now then trying to battle with injury. That never ends well.
Maybe this case is different, I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good.
Had it been the elbow, forearm, groin, hamstring, calf, etc. I would agree, but it’s his SHOULDER so no.
Eh what do I know, I’m not a doctor. Still doesn’t sound good though
Shoulder has NOTHING to do with TJS in the elbow Meat. Rotator cuff and labrum surgery would be more probable.
It’s his shoulder pwndroia. Not elbow.
When it’s tied to the Forearm. Shoulder inflamation could be Capsule, Rotator, or other issues but not UCL
Damaged goods! As compensation, please send us Shea Langeliers and we’ll call it even.
Domingo German is the Yankees 6th starter. He’ll likely start 20+ games this year.
I wish Frankie well, but it appears he’s had this shoulder inflammation for over six months. Why exactly do they believe he’ll be well by May?
Because they only said he was behind in his Off Season Training. He may very well feel fine but the team wants him to progress slow and not worry about ramping up to quick
Don’t worry Yankees fans, A’s didn’t get much on their end of trade either.
lmao, I think A’s robbed the Yankees here. Yankees could use a combination of Waldichuk and JP Sears, but A’s got them now. Those guys are the next A’s all stars.
I’ll be happy to retract the trade. You guys can flip Montas at the deadline again.
Agreed bleacher creatures. Montez continues to be a disappointment. One wonders if you will actually ever pitch for the Yankees. Last year was bad enough and it already begins this year.
@Dr- no worries really. Montas is our #5 in the rotation. German or Schmidt can’t do that? Just saying if Montas is hurt that is.
They definitely can captain, and they might be preferable. German looked pretty good last year anyway.
IDK about that one
Perhaps the worst part about this trade is the perpetual problem is caused for the Yankees. Once again, they spend valuable prospects (or money in other cases) to acquire someone they didn’t need and now can’t get someone they do need (for LF/SP (Lopez)).
It’s the same cycle, over and over and over again. Cashman has been really really poor in most of his trades in recent years.
Why do I blame Cashman? Same reason I blame Hal for the roster construction- because even if it’s Michael Fishman’s & analytics team’s fault, Cashman has done nothing to change it. They keep the same people in the same places, making the same decisions, and resulting in the same (or worse) outcomes.
Once again, they spend valuable prospects (or money in other cases) to acquire someone they didn’t need
=========================
But the acquisition of Montas allowed them to finally dump Montgomery.
And St Louis fans thank you for that!
Clipper Brian Sabean has entered the chat. Hopefully he will straighten some of this overuse of analytics without consideration for building an actual team. Unfortunately he came to the party a bit too late to effect (or is it affect?) the team this year.
I certainly hope so, but Cashman has already stated that Sabean and Minaya would not change his approach.
JoeSays: You’re right, I should’ve written “to this point.” Michael Kay was awful defensive of Cashman regarding these FO moves. He’s fighting the very premise of the argument that these guys will change anything Cashman does. He posits that they’re there for advice to him and nothing more. I don’t buy that, but it could be correct.
@Asfan0780- I disagree. Medina can throw over 100 miles per hour. (Future Closer) If the Yankees still had Waldichuk, Sears, Medina and the lefty they traded to the Royals, they might of been able to trade for Bryan Reynolds. I’m sure many Yankee fans would want to undo the Montas trade now. Especially now that Frankie is hurt.
This dudes shoulder never gonna be healthy
What a bust
Gee for all talk about New York Mets pitching staff having old players that break down due to age.
I wonder how many Yankees fans that are also NY Mets haters will be chirping with this news.
That this happened to there beloved New York Yankees.
The biggest Mets haters on MLBTR are some conflicted Mets fans themselves. Same applies to the Yankees.
I don’t care whose team they are on, I hate to see it Tough on the player, tough on the team and for the fan base when they are counting on the productivity and their aspirations. But it is also a big part of the pro sports – injuries usually define a season even more than “who wins the offseason”. And while certainly some medical staffs are better than others, most of the time when fans whine (“they should have known”) it is baseless nonsense.
As rough as it is to have elbow problems as a pitcher, shoulders are worse. Hopefully he ends up as one of the lucky ones given some time and rehab.
I would trust Clarke Schmidt on the mound more than Montas at this point anyway. His minor league numbers are impressive and he’s a first round draft pick.
I disagree. Montas at least has a decent resume. Schmidt is a disaster and you never know how he’ll do when put in a high leverage game
Unfortunately yank2,you do know how he will do in a high-level situation. He will collapse. That’s what has been his trend so far.
I totally disagree with that. Schmidt looked really good in the bullpen last season. I’m wondering how he would be in the rotation as a #5 now. He should definitely get a look with Montas hurting.
All I can tell you captain is that every time I’ve seen him he has collapsed at some point. Especially during crunch time. He has not impressed me. Obviously opinions differ.
He’s a young player with a small sample size. I wouldn’t put too much weight in a guys first 3 years in the MLB. Especially when the Yankees are so deep that he doesn’t get a lot innings. People who say a guy can’t perform in high leverage despite elite stuff are usually proven wrong.
Baseball is hard and the competition level in MLB is elite. Guys with his stats generally get chances at starting during the year. Especially with injuries. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Schmidt take a step forward this year and take the 4th or 5th spot.
But this rotation is better than the Astros…… LOL
The Yankees lost their number 5 starter for a month. I think they’ll survive.
EL OH EL
Have a feeling Montas is trying to avoid having surgery. Meanwhile Monty avoided arbitration and will have a good season for the cardinals. Hopefully Bader stays healthy and continues to play well in CF. Some trades are complete bombs for the Yankees. Seems like the trade for Montas is turning into one of them bombs
Looks like the A’s actually did themselves a favor by trading Montas and Manaea. But all you’ll hear is how the A’s are tanking, not rebuilding.
Well the olson, chapman deals aren’t looking great. Already DFA logue from chapman trade. Pache May never learn to hit And the Murphy trade return was very underwhelming
Umm Langeliers alone has made the Olson trade look good wtf are you talking about??
But all you’ll hear is how the A’s are tanking, not rebuilding.
====================================
Those are silly people, and the writers that think every team should be above .500. Over the long-run, small markets teams project to be under .500, and have to pick and choose their windows.
Carl Pavano, Jr…. what a joke!
My fear is Rodon will be Pavano, jr.
I’m sure they can find a replacement within their minor league affiliate in Miami.
So lesson is, if you have good, healthy pitching, dont trade them, because no team ever has enough. And if some team is making available a high level pitcher, its buyer beware, proceed with caution.
A league of 29 used car salesmen plus a nice lady in Miami.
If the Yankees become desperate for pitching, they can always sign Trevor Bauer for the league minimum salary. Don’t even think about it Cashman!!
Why? He wasn’t arrested. Chapman fired a gun during a domestic dispute and was traded for and re-signed. You were okay with that. I didn’t read any feigning on that one. Why?
That’s a very valid point. Outside of the controversy, Bauer is a clubhouse cancer (or a**hole) that I wouldn’t want to pay big bucks to. For the league minimum and on a team like NYY, it could work.
No pass on Bauer. No thanks. No time to have to babysit him all year. He can go somewhere else, like another country(Canada)
You are Correct. I think they should sign him and let Cole Deal with it for the One Year. He’s the Best Pitcher out there and Someone will sign him, why not the Yankees?
Putting aside all the controversy that would come with signing Bauer, there’s no way the Yankees are going to put him on the same team with Cole.
Bauer doesn’t have sex the tradition way… Don’t sign him.
You’re right he doesn’t. He just stalks people online and harasses them until he gets bored then procedes to tell his employers how stupid they are and why he’s smarter than everyone of them.
LOLYankees!
get the man some turmeric and get him back on the bump
He stinks, anyway
He was good in Oakland. People who critique Cashman for making a bad trade are dumb. Not his fault for Montas’s bad performance in NY since the trade. You can’t foresee or predict that. Cashman did the right thing and traded away prospects; that’s all they are – prospects. Most prospects that come up in the Yankee farm system wind up terrible anyway. But yeah I don’t see Montas bouncing back and being impactful for this team but who knows?
He had something like a 4.50 ERA on the road though so it wasn’t very hard to see the coliseum was of great benefit to his numbers.. Ponying up for Castillo was always the way to go if they were looking to go all in on a pitcher. Especially considering this shoulder was already an issue for Montas at the time of the trade.
1-Montas’ road ERA was pretty bad. He survived by pitching half his game in Oakland.
2-He was hurt in July, so maybe one could predict he wasn’t healthy.
3-The NYY actually do fairly well with their rospects.
4-Seen thru another lens, they traded Monty for Montas, at least as far as the rotation goes.
Did they do fairly well with Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar, Chance Adams, Gary Sanchez, Mike Ford, and Greg Bird?
Nobody produces less from the amateur draft than the Yankees. It’s not even close.
I can see if this was an isolated incident, but Cash seems to have a penchant for trading for hurt SP. Remember the Piñeda and Paxton trades? Who is looking at these players/records?
Kluber acquisition also… Injury. Tallion, a two-time TJS guy, despite the fact he was decent, was also a risk given the other injured pitchers in the rotation.
Most prospects that come up in the Yankee farm system wind up terrible anyway.
************
That doesn’t justify trading away prospects.
The main issue is that they traded for a guy who had shoulder problems and it has persisted through this day. He clearly was battling through the same injury when he had been pitching for the Yankees bc he wasn’t any good. This falls on Cashman and the medical staff.
I think the first clue he was having trouble signing the contract.
Cashman- what’s Wong?
Months- My shoulder
Casman- No soup for you.
NYY constructed their roster well. Montas as a 5th starter is pretty damn good. They can easily survive a stop gap 5th for a bit.
German easily out pitched him in 2022 and will do fine as long as Montas sits on the sideline. This should not affect the team at all.
Gee, who could’ve seen this coming?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/08/yankees-to-acquire-frankie-montas-lou-trivino.html#comment-2632269
I say they should offer Trey Sweeney for Eric Lauer.
No pass on Lauer. Trey Sweeney isn’t going to be traded for garbage.
Montas is a dog. So in dog months, 1 month = 7 months. Aka, done for 2023.
Gosh, if there were only a tremendous starter available, a former Cy Young award winner, in the prime of his career. A Gerrit Cole caliber type starter available for the league minimum – who could put together a glorious season. There is, and due to collusion – they will not. If winning mattered, they would. The fact this baseball site ignores the collusion is ridiculous. Now ATTACK, feign all that SJW soyrage or delete MLBTR. Facts here are often inconvenient. I’ll gladly root for whoever signs this guy, who we’re not allowed to name – strangely.
Settle down, Rachel Luba. This is a Wendy’s.
Do you know the meaning of “collusion”?
“secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose”
There’s no secrecy involved here. There’s no need for it. Everyone knows why Bauer — oh, hey! We ARE allowed to name him! — isn’t getting signed. BECAUSE HE GETS HIS ROCKS OFF BY BEATING UP WOMEN!
Do you remember when Domingo German was suspended for slapping his wife in the face? Zack Britton went public on how much he despised him, and German had to meet with his teammates to apologize and promise to do better.
When I was growing up, boys were taught a simple rule: You don’t hit girls. Guys who hit girls are cowards. This is the code that all decent men live by.
Bauer has the legal right to beat up sick women who like it. And men who were taught not to beat up women have a right to despise him. See how that works? Everybody’s rights are respected.
He made choices in his life. If beating up women is more important to him than a major league career, congratulations to him. He got what he wanted. Nobody forced him to make his choices, and nobody has to excuse the choices he made. If he didn’t know that other ballplayers would look down on his sadism, he’s a damned idiot.
Baseball is a team sport. Team chemistry matters. You might not like that, but that’s too damn bad. Welcome to the real world.
Michael Vick butchered dogs.. many people have done bad things and have come up successful. Deshawn Watson abused 50 women. He’s a starting QB.
I don’t like Bauer at all. But if anyone can take a risk on him it’s the Yankees. Chemistry is a product of winning. How did our chemistry fare when we got our asses handed to us by the Astros. That’s the real world Ass Clown
Your attempt at an insult might’ve been more effective if you knew what a comma is.
BTW, you should be careful of what you wish for.
Not surprisingly from a guy like him, Bauer bagged on Gerrit Cole and his Astros teammates for using Spider Tack. So what happened to Bauer after the league started checking for sticky stuff on June 21, 2021?
In his two starts after that program started, his FIP ballooned to 6.84, worse than all but 11 starters out of 226. His HR/9 of 3.75 was worse than all but one starter out of 226. His fWAR was -0.1, putting him in the 182nd tier out of 226 starters. What a stud. But he didn’t need the sticky stuff. You bet.
Pot, meet kettle.
But, sure — sign this clown who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since those two games when he stank on ice. He should be ready by — what? June? Then watch the baseballs sail out of Yankee Stadium.
“Bauer’s career is in jeopardy, and his stay with the Dodgers could be over, the sexual-assault allegations having turned a pitcher in his prime into a pariah in his own clubhouse, where no teammate has spoken publicly about him or come to his defense. Two people with knowledge of Dodgers clubhouse dynamics, who are unauthorized to speak publicly about the situation, said that a majority of players do not want Bauer back under any circumstances.” – Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times
The Dodgers need pitching, but they’re paying the jerk $22.5 million to leave. After they DFA’d him, they couldn’t find any trade partner to take him for the major league minimum of $720,000. But you know better than every GM in the league, right?
Not to mention the gigantic black cloud hanging over whatever organization signs him, in that at any moment, any number of women with whom he’s had contact could file a similar complaint and his new organization/owners/players would take such negative publicity that it would derail any topic, subject, goals, or positive outreach they’ve done.
In other words, I won’t debate the moral side, because regardless of how the situation transpired one may cling to his own value set. But, one cannot argue the negative impact another complaint will have on a new club, therefore it’s simply not worth it for them.
I could see a team picking him up, but it won’t be a major market team, imo.
In other Yankee news, it looks like Gleyber is going to arbitration. I’m wondering if it’s an indication that they plan trade him and are trying to keep his pay as low as possible to improve their position with a trade partner. Or maybe they’re just trying to save themselves some money.
He was a good pitcher most of last year but was completely awful once the Yankees got him. His ERA literally doubled, went from 3 to 6. Same thing happened the year before with Gallo, was decent with Texas and then god awful with NY.
Perhaps Montas was hurt or at least having soreness before the Yankees got him. That would explain a lot. Would be a big loss if he isn’t all that good, they don’t have great SP depth. But Rodon should sure help, if he’s healthy. He and Cole are devastating 1-2, about the best in the AL potentially.
Montas has extreme ballpark splits. Yankees would be wise to limit his starts to pitcher-friendly parks.
Don’t tell Frankie the Yanks play at Colorado coming out of the All Star Break… or just tell him the plane leaves at a later time.
The Donaldson trade was enough that cashman should have been fired. This one isn’t as bad but bad enough.
Donaldson is still elite at 3B
Was elite, and Urshela had a better year last year and I take the odds of him better this year.
And the twins traded Gio after that one year. Shows what they think of him.
And the Angels traded for him. Shows what they think of him.
Gio’s bWAR – 3.1
Donaldson’s bWAR – 2.4
Gio’s OPS – .767
Donaldson’s OPS – .682
Gio’s OPS+ – 121
Donaldson’s OPS+ – 94
Gio’s BA – .285
Donaldson’s BA – .222
And DJ was better than both.
So just fyi he’s not playing 3b they have Rendon for 200 mil gio is going to be a SS. Good luck with that
No he isn’t. Making 20 plus million a year with the stats he had with the twins and you trade for him?
Gio is far superior to donaldson. Cashman should have been fired over that trade.
Think of what the Yankees could have done if they didn’t have that contract
Donaldson will be a Yankee for 1 year, if he even makes it that long. He might start for a while, expect DJ if healthy to start playing 3rd base regularly if Donny continues to struggle offensively.
Let’s hope so. The Yankees moves are sometimes inexplicable.
But instead, he was extended for another four years.Lol.
He is such a loser guy
Yogi Berra and dejavu all over?
reactive trades are a yankees speciality. don’t get your first choice? rush to overpay for your second choice
Well said.
Seems trading for hurt SP is Cash”s specialty. Piñeda, Paxton, now Montas.
It’s not a trade but let’s hope Rodon isn’t added to that list.
Sonny Gray 2.0
Does New York really give these guys a chance anyway? We are far from Pettit, Bernie and Jorge. New York hasn’t won in how many years and cannot afford the patience of these kids.
I like how the keep writing Cole 1st as if he’s the #1 starter on the Yankees when Cortes made the all star team & has out pitched cole every year. Cole is only paid like a #1. He needs that sticky stuff, they all do.
Shoulder inflammation …in the off-season? Yeah, I wouldn’t count on this guy in 2023.
Wow. Just wow. This guy seems too soft to be a Yankee.
Go sign Trevor Bauer
Say what you want watch this drag out way more than a month. No I don’t have inside information but these situations don’t just go away.
Is it Wacha flocka time?
Pitching isn’t the big issue with the Yankees. It’s their lineup. I have have a better chance at being the next Pope than the Yankees have of taking the AL Pennant if they are returning Josh, Gleyber, IKF, and Hicks to their respective positions.
From Bryan Hoch’s article on MLB.com about Montas’s latest injury:
‘“We haven’t had a chance to see the real deal yet from him,” general manager Brian Cashman said in December.’
We haven’t had a chance? He had eight starts with the Yankees. And he sucked. Then he pitched one inning in the postseason and gave up a home run.
Cashman traded away eight pitchers in his trade deadline deals: LHP Jordan Montgomery, RHP Chandler Champlain, LHP T.J. Sikkema, RHP Beck Way, RHP Hayden Wesneski, LHP Ken Waldichuk, LHP JP Sears, and RHP Luis Medina.
He had five shortstop prospects and didn’t trade any of them.
Bader turned out to be a good add, at least so far. But who would you rather have in the rotation now — Montas or Monty?
The Pirates want controllable arms in trade for Reynolds. Two of the starters Cashman traded for Montas are already pitching in the majors.
I’d rather have Luis Castillo than Monty or Montas. With all the arms Cashman dealt and all the shortstop prospects he sat on, he couldn’t have given the Reds a better package than Noelvi Marte, Levi Stoudt, Edwin Arroyo and Andrew Moore, the players Seattle traded for him? Only two of those players are on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, and both are shortstops, and Cincy already had a shortstop who’s rated higher than either of them.
In Cashman’s defense he also said IKF was one of the best SS in the league. Soooo, it looks like he’s just crazy in general.
How is it possible that he’s 10 weeks behind in training? Is he that hurt or just that lazy? To me he’s that lazy. He doesn’t care if he throws or not. I could be mistaken.. he’s not a Yankee. He’s a good pitcher on a bad team. And that’s what we got. Damaged goods. Thank goodness we didn’t give up much for this stuff. Call Trevor Bauer and get his ass in shape.
The thing is, if he’s 8-10 weeks behind now, how is his shoulder going to improve by May? I’m not saying it won’t because I have no idea what’s wrong with it, but he’s been nursing it for 6 mos and it hasn’t gotten any better. Now we are more than halfway through the offseason and he’s still not right, which tells me the 8-10 is going to be more as we progress.
I have a very distinct feeling that the Yankees are going to be surprised by the obvious upcoming injury to Montas’ shoulder when he tries to return.
Montas is in his walk year, correct? They should have just cut him and spent the money on other needs.
I have to admit they are pretty slick in the timing of the announcement of this injury. No way this crept up out of nowhere….so they announce it now well after viable FA starters are off the board. If they announced this a month ago their would be no excuse not to go out and get another starter. Now they can pretend like they are handcuffed bc there no quality FA’s available and go into the season with an incomplete pitching staff.
I don’t think Cashman was likely to admit that he gave a raft of prospects to Oakland in a bum deal. Giving Montas a $7.5m contract was cheaper than spending for any pitcher he could’ve found outside the proverbial dumpster, and it basically doubles down on the dumb deal he made to acquire Montas. But hope springs eternal.
A bum signing and another flop by Cashman on pitchers. This guy won’t help Yanks win #28 in ‘23 for sure! $$ poorly spent.
Why Cash, deals with Billy “the trader” Beane is beyond comprehension….its seems that everytime he does, he gets taken to the cleaners……and where was the Yankee medical staff on this…..with their proverbial heads up their a_s……Montas was hurt well before the trade, and at the time of the trade was being nursed back into starts, 3,4,5 innings at a time and only had minimal effectiveness at that juncture, yet Cashman, after failing on Castillo, felt like he had to “settle” for second scraps…..namely Montas while giving up young, controllable, multiple pitching for basically a player who was hurt…….shameful!
Getting Montas was another brilliant move by Cashman.
Montas is garbage
Montas was injured when he was on the Dodgers and White Sox and was rehabbing from surgery when the A’s traded for him, if Cashman didn’t properly do his homework and realize his injury history, that’s on him, not the A’s… all the Yankees fans who are crying foul should be mad at Cashman