The Frankie Montas era in the Bronx could not have gotten off to a worse start. The New York Yankees’ big trade deadline acquisition went 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with the Bronx Bombers last season and was shut down in mid-September with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.
The Yankees announced last month that Montas would undergo shoulder surgery and miss a significant portion, if not all, of the 2023 season. Now, Montas is speaking out regarding what transpired ahead of last season’s trade deadline and recently made a shocking admission regarding his health.
“I was trying to push through,” Montas told reporters on Wednesday. “I got traded to a new team and wanted to show what I could do. Things didn’t go the way I was expecting.”
Frankie Montas said that he “wasn’t 100%” when the Yankees acquired him. “I was trying to push through. I got traded to a new team and wanted to show what I could do. Things didn’t go the way I was expecting.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 8, 2023
This points to Montas not being fully healthy when the Yankees acquired the 29-year-old right-hander in August of last year. Montas was initially only going to miss the first month of the season with shoulder inflammation, but his injured shoulder required arthroscopic surgery.
While the Yankees have not provided a timetable for his return, Montas told reporters Wednesday that he will resume playing catch in nine to 10 weeks and is confident that he’ll pitch in 2023.
We’ll have to see if Montas does eventually return to the fold for the Yankees this season. In any event, this news raises some eyebrows about the Yankees’ gathering of medical info during last season’s trade deadline, as the team parted with several top prospects in exchange for the injured starter.
[Bryan Hoch, ESPN]
