The Yankees announced this morning that right-hander Frankie Montas will begin a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level this evening. Montas has not yet appeared in a professional game this year after undergoing shoulder surgery back in February.
Montas joined the Yankees at the trade deadline last year in a deal that sent a package of prospects headlined by left-hander Ken Waldichuk. The deal proved to be an ill-fated one for the Yankees, as Montas made just eight starts to the tune of a 6.35 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 17.8%. With just 12 games left on the regular season calendar and New York all but eliminated from postseason contention, the window is tight for Montas to return to the big leagues this year at all, much less for a full-length start. Nonetheless, with the 30-year-old righty poised to hit the open market this November, even a brief return to the big leagues where Montas can prove his health to clubs ahead of the offseason could be valuable as he looks to join a crowded free agent class for starting pitchers.
More from around the AL East…
- Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has been on the COVID-19 injured list for the past week, but could be nearing a return. As manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Jansen is playing catch and is currently expected to rejoin the team in Texas on Wednesday, as soon as he’s eligible to return from the IL. The 35-year-old closer has had a solid season in Boston, with a 3.63 ERA and 29 saves in 44 2/3 innings of work. Chris Martin, Garrett Whitlock, and John Schreiber have handled the late innings for the Red Sox while Jansen has been out.
- Orioles closer Felix Bautista has been on the IL since late August with a UCL injury, though the club hasn’t given up hope on the 28-year-old returning this year. That hope is still alive today, as manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Dan Connolly of Sportsnaut) this afternoon. Bautista threw a 20-25 pitch side session, which Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun was noted was his third consecutive day of throwing. Bautista was perhaps the most dominant reliever in the sport prior to going down with injury. In 61 innings of work this season, he’s posted a 1.48 ERA with an incredible 46.4% strikeout rate.
- Sticking with the Orioles, Hyde told reporters (including Jake Rill of MLB.com) that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who has been dealing with shoulder soreness in recent days, tried swinging a bat yesterday but that “it didn’t go great.” Hyde added that he still doesn’t consider Mountcastle as a candidate to hit the injured list. Mountcastle has slashed .269/.327/.453 in 459 trips to the plate this season. The Orioles have been relying on Ryan O’Hearn at first base in Mountcastle’s absence.
Yanks will activate Montas so he can get one last booing at home before he hits free agency.
It’s only fair.
The last several trades by Cashman have been horrible. Gallo, Montas, Effross, Benetindi. Not to mention a trade he should have made, especially trading for Olsen instead of signing a much older Rizzo. Why does this man still have a job.
Effross at least has a few more years of control and will probably come back strong. Still not ideal but the rest are awful for sure.
Beni broke his hand by a HBP so I don’t know how that is Cashman’s fault. A trade for Matt Olson would’ve revolved around Volpe and/or Dominguez and there are no guarantees that he signs an extension.
Benintendi just isn’t a great player to begin with. He’s better than Verdgo for sure, but both players just aren’t anything special.
Not a HBP, it was on a swing.
Wasn’t Stanton an ownership decision? Remember how yankee fans thought they fleeced the fish? That and Ellsbury were my favorite moves, and they ended up far worse for them than I imagined.
Fan – There’s a great POBO available that can replace Cashman, his name is Bloom. I’d be all for it!
As for Jansen, $16M for 44 innings of good but not great pitching is an absolute joke.
I don’t recall Yankees fans thinking they “fleeced the Fish”. But Cashman’s overall BA is dropping faster than Judge’s is right now.
He’s better than Verdgo for sure
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But only if you prefer a 0.2 bWAR over a 2.9 bWAR.
Gallo, Montas, Effross, Benetindi.
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I thought the Monty trade was as bad as those.
@mlbnyyfan
Cashman had no chance on Olsen, who massively wanted to go to his home town Braves.
Whilst Cashman is about 15 years past his sell by date, I don’t think you can blame him for that one…. The Yankees had nothing approaching the Braves in prospects, especially when Murphy became part of the total deal….
Cashman should be fired over the Montas trade. It was just as bad as the Gallo trade
Luhnow is available once you guys finally push the dusty red button on the Death Star, just don’t tell the Cardinals his passwords.
Easy to say hindsight now huh?
And Stanton.
Cashman is a bigger problem than Boone.
Yankee fans boo’ing their players hasn’t worked out well. Aaron Hicks has revitalized his career away from the Bronx Cheers, slashing .291/.388/.459 for a 136 OPS+ in over 200 PAs, and Josh Donaldson entered today slashing .313/.476/.563 for the Brewers.
Probably more effective than a Jack McDowell response.
I was at that McDowell game. We were looking down on him as he walked to the dugout. Strangely, the boos went to cheers in our section when he flipped the bird. I think the fans appreciated his honest response by showing emotion.
Nah, he’ll suffer an injury during the rehab start.
Montas has been the signature bad move for Cashman. But nothing they’ve given up has turned into an impact player so the real criticism is they could have used that prospect capital for someone else. Duran has had a decent year but there’s a lot that needs to go right for him going forward given his k/bb ratio and lack of defensive prowess.
I believe Sears is a good pitcher. With the exception of an ERA a bit higher than you’d want, his numbers look promising. But ultimately you’re right that he should have been dealt for someone better than Montas.
Medina and Waldichuk have both improved throughout the course of the season and Cooper Bowman is still in the minors. Even if Sears regresses and falls out the rotation, the A’s will still receive surplus value from the deal.
That’s pretty humiliating for Cashman when you consider what Forst received for Olson, Chapman and Murphy.
Honestly, let’s trade Jansen and make Whitlock the closer. We could actually possibly get something back for Jansen and we have nothing to lose at this point.
DB: I thought they should have dumped him at the deadline . If there is any interest in the off season they definitely should entertain getting rid of him.
Understatement that Montas’ deal didn’t work out for the Yankees. he was already injured when he came over…why the Yankee braintrust or the doctors reviewing his meds didn’t see that.. To use an old fashioned phrase.; when other GM’s see Cashman coming….
It’s so bad man.. But classic Yanks they give us just enough to be somewhat encouraged about heading into the offseason – this time around it’s the youth movement (although I can’t believe JDom played several games with a torn UCL)