When the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas on Aug. 1, a day earlier than the buying and selling deadline, the franchise and its followers celebrated.
The Reds had already dealt Luis Castillo to the Mariners — he has since signed a five-year extension with Seattle — so Montas, thought of by many to be the second-best starter in the marketplace due to his work with the Oakland Athletics, grew to become a welcomed comfort prize.
“I do know he’s going to be a giant addition to the workers,” Supervisor Aaron Boone stated after the Yankees shipped a minor league infielder, Cooper Bowman, and the younger pitchers Ken Waldichuk, Luis Medina and JP Sears to Oakland.
However Montas’s Yankees profession instantly went sideways. He struggled over his first eight begins for the workforce earlier than touchdown on the 15-day injured listing with a shoulder harm that had been bothering him when he was in Oakland. And now, with the Yankees a win away from clinching the American League East, there’s no assure that Montas, 29, could be counted on to make it again into the workforce’s rotation, not to mention be the frontline starter within the postseason that some had imagined.
“It’s in all probability getting to a degree the place it’s going to be powerful as like a beginning, built-up possibility,” Boone stated of Montas on Sunday. “That may be a problem, however I believe there’s an opportunity that he can have a task and affect us.”
Boone alluded to discovering alternative routes to make use of Montas, who has recorded a 6.35 E.R.A. over his first 39⅔ innings for New York. That would imply popping out of the bullpen or being a part of a piggyback setup the place two pitchers cut up up the innings usually given to a starter.
Montas final pitched on Sept. 16, permitting 4 earned runs to the Milwaukee Brewers over three and a 3rd innings. An M.R.I. was taken, and Montas was positioned on the injured listing on Sept. 20 (retroactive to Sept. 17) with proper shoulder irritation. He obtained a cortisone shot, and the Yankees had deliberate to close him down from throwing for a minimum of 10 days.
On Sunday, Montas stated that he felt “higher” and that he hoped to begin “taking part in catch very quickly.” Boone stated Monday that he anticipated Montas to begin throwing this week. After being positioned on the I.L., Montas had expressed optimism about contributing to the Yankees’ postseason efforts.
“I nonetheless wish to return and attempt to assist the workforce within the playoffs,” he advised reporters. “You understand, each time I can.”
However with lower than two weeks left within the common season, Montas gained’t have the ability to tackle a starter’s full workload. Even when he may, it isn’t essentially clear the Yankees would have a spot for him.
New York definitely didn’t think about this when the workforce traded for the right-hander. Montas had a 3.18 E.R.A. over 19 begins for the Athletics this season, and had a 3.37 mark with Oakland in 2021. However a shoulder harm in July, which Boone had referred to as a “hiccup,” could have been a much bigger concern than anybody realized. Montas was nonetheless rebuilding arm power on the time of the commerce, and his newest I.L. stint led him to concede that he “in all probability rushed” his summer time return.
Montas, nonetheless, blamed his stuff — not his shoulder — for his issues in pinstripes.
“I’ve had video games the place I haven’t actually been commanding my fastball or my secondary pitches,” Montas said after his final begin. “However I really feel like somewhat little bit of luck, it’s not likely on my facet, however I preserve going on the market and attempting to do my greatest.”
Happily for the Yankees, Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Jameson Taillon supply the workforce 4 stable starters for the postseason, although Severino remains to be increase after his personal prolonged I.L. stint. He pitched Monday in Toronto, permitting two earned runs over 4 innings in a 3-2, 10-inning loss.
Even with that defeat, the Yankees are just one win away from locking up a division title and a first-round bye within the playoffs, with a number of gamers having lately returned from the I.L. so as to add some wanted depth. It’s an enviable place, however Montas shouldn’t be the workforce’s solely query mark.
With 9 video games remaining within the common season, Aaron Hicks’s standing is unsure at greatest. The outfielder has loved a relative stretch of success, going 7 for 18 with two dwelling runs over his final six video games. However that may’t make up for a season of struggles, which prompted the Yankees to commerce for heart fielder Harrison Bader.
With Andrew Benintendi nonetheless working his means again from a damaged hamate bone in his hand, the Yankees’ most well-liked left fielder seems to be the rookie Oswaldo Cabrera. And if Matt Carpenter and DJ LeMahieu are in a position to return from accidents, that may restrict Hicks’s alternatives even additional.
After which there’s the Yankees’ bullpen, which has loads of proficient arms however no clear-cut nearer. The prospect of Aroldis Chapman, the workforce’s longtime finisher, getting a postseason roster spot has been a subject of dialog after The New York Submit reported the group had thought of designating the left-handed reliever for task.
Chapman, an impending free agent, has been unreliable, recording a 4.36 E.R.A. over 33 innings. He misplaced his closing job to Clay Holmes earlier this season, although Holmes, an All-Star, has since had his personal tough stretches. The fluidity has led to the Yankees utilizing 11 completely different relievers to file saves this season.
On Sunday, Boone was requested, level clean, if he may belief Chapman in high-leverage conditions.
“Nicely, we’ll see,” Boone stated. “Proper now, I’m utilizing him extra in low- and medium-leverage conditions.
“Bodily, I really feel prefer it’s nonetheless there. The stuff is there. He’s proven flashes of it all through the season and even within the second half of the season. So we’ve acquired to proceed to take advantage of out of each alternative, after which we’ll make that decision.”