Right-hander Frankie Montas will miss opening month of the 2023 season for the New York Yankees. The New York Post reported that after agreeing on a $7.5 million salary for 2023 that he is 8-10 weeks behind in his offseason training. He was working on his conditioning due to inflammation in his shoulder from last year.
Past Injuries
When the Yankees acquired Montas from the Oakland Athletics in a blockbuster trade-deadline deal last August, they didn’t seem too concerned with the right-hander’s previous shoulder concerns. He had missed time in July, dealing with the inflammation and was back on the IL in September with the same injury.
While there’s no indication that any sort of surgery is needed, there has to be concern. This is just one of many injuries that Montas has suffered since 2020. Whether hand, back, or shoulder, injuries have landed him on the IL on multiple occasions.
Rough Start
Montas had a terrible beginning to his Yankees tenure last season, posting a 6.35 ERA in eight starts. He also had issues with his strikeouts being down, and his walks home runs up. The team wound up moving him to the bullpen. He was left off the ALDS roster, and then only pitched one inning in the ALCS.
Who Steps In?
The Yankees were counting on Montas to be a consistent starter in his first full season. Now that he is out for at least a month or longer, they need a few others to step in and provide consistency. They have one of the better rotations in the major leagues. Gerrit Cole, the recently signed Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino are looked at as their top four starters.
They most likely will look to Deivi Garcia, Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt as options to fill Montas’ place in the rotation.
Luis Gil ,one of their top prospects, is figured to be part of the Yankees’ pitching plans at some point. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Can He Remain Healthy?
Frankie Montas is going to miss all of April, but if everyone on the starting staff remains healthy, they should be able to handle the early loss until he returns. Having him on the IL can also keep him fresh down the stretch. The Yankees would be happy with foregoing a few months without him during the beginning of the season if it means he is healthy, and they can get his best performance later in the season during a pennant run.
Yankees fans also need to remain patient with his injury. If and when he does return, it will take him some time to get into shape. Remember pitchers usually take a little longer to get up to game shape when they miss spring training.
Injury Recurrence
However, recurrence of this shoulder inflammation remains concerning, especially if the injury requires extended missed time or, worse, surgery. And, if the other starters struggle you can expect the Yankees to look at making a trade to acquire a starter since they are being projected to be a World Series contender in 2023.
Whether Montas will be able to help the Yankees make a run for the playoffs remains to be seen. He needs to get over the injury, get in playing shape, and start pitching. He also needs to remain healthy and injury free to be an asset to the team.
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