Frankie Montas Needs Shoulder Surgery, Could Miss Entire 2023 Season
The New York Yankees had a rough start to Spring Training today. Aaron Boone announced Tuesday that starting pitcher Frankie Montas will need shoulder surgery on Feb 21.
The surgery will likely keep Montas, 26, out for the entire season. A possible return at the end of the season is a “best-case scenario” for the right-handed pitcher.
“It’s been a couple of different shutdowns where he was getting built up, and then he went out and saw [a team doctor] who cleared him to go again, he was building back up, and still wasn’t quite right, so went back and now we’ve gotten to the point where they’re going to go in,” Boone said to the media.
“They’ll scope it and then we’ll have a better idea of the timeframe once that happens on the 21st, and then hopefully he’s here a few days later,”
“Best case is he would be back late in the season, but we’re really going to know a lot after the 21st,”
Oof. This is a tough pill to swallow for the Yankees, who were gearing up to have one of the best rotations in baseball in 2023.
Montas was acquired in a midseason deal with the Oakland A’s last summer. He really struggled last season in the Pinstripes, posting a 6.35 ERA in eight starts. In five of those eight starts, Montas allowed 4 or more earned runs.
Regardless, Montas is a seasoned veteran with a career that pointed to him likely being able to rebound in 2023.
Luckily for New York, they went out and picked up some pitching depth during this offseason. They were able to land Carlos Rodon. This might end up being an astronomically important move if Montas misses the entire season.
Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes will still be the Yanks’ 1-2-3 punch. Luis Severino’s role as the 4th pitcher is heightened with Montas’ absence. It will be interesting to see what the Yankees do with their 5th starter.
Michael King is an option, but you’d love to keep King as your long reliever since that is what he has excelled at during his time in MLB.
Now you likely turn to Domingo Germán. Germán has had a long list of personal issues, but he really started to play well down the stretch last season.
It sucks to lose depth, and that’s exactly what the New York Yankees are losing with Frankie Montas’ injury.
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