Frankie Montas was expected to be a big part of the Yankees’ starting rotation, but now they could be without him for the entire season.
Manager Aaron Boone announced on Wednesday that Montas will undergo shoulder surgery next Tuesday. The Yankees skipper told reporters down at the team’s facility in Tampa that the best-case scenario would be the righty returning at the end of the season.
Boone added that the team would get a better grasp of the situation after he undergoes the procedure next week.
“We’re really going to know a lot after the [Feb. 21] when they know specifically what they have to do in there,” Boone said. “If it’s just the scope then there’s the potential he could be back late in the year.”
Montas has been dealing with shoulder issues for some time dating back to before his trade to New York when he was a member of the Oakland Athletics. He exited a start on July 3 in Seattle after just 13 pitches due to shoulder tightness and returned on July 21.
He was sidelined for the remainder of the 2022 campaign after Sept. 16 due to inflammation in his pitching shoulder. He has continued to deal with it and was already expected to miss the first month of the season.
“It’s been a couple different shutdowns where he was getting built up and then he went out and saw (Dr. Neal ElAttrache), who cleared him to go again,” Boone said. “He was building back up and just still wasn’t quite right, so went back and now we’ve gotten to the point where they’re going to go in. They’ll scope and we’ll have a better idea of the time frame once that happens on the 21st.”
Montas’ time with the Yankees hadn’t gone as expected since he was traded to the team near the July trade deadline. He had a 6.35 ERA in 39.2 innings for the Yankees.
With Montas now out for an extended period of time, it could put Domingo German or Clarke Schmidt in the running for a position in the rotation. New York will also need to see where Nester Cortes stands closer to opening day.
He was ruled out of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday due to a strained right hamstring.
Wednesday marked the day that pitchers and catchers reported to the Yankees’ facility for spring training. Pitching had been where general manager Brian Cashman made the biggest offseason upgrade in signing starter Carlos Rodon to a six-year contract.
