Yankees have Two World class Pitchers reunion but still have shot at Jordan Montgomery Deal Agreed
One potential reunion is off the table for the Yankees’ rotation needs, but whether another could be in the cards remains to be seen.
The Yankees had some interest in bringing back Frankie Montas, likely on a short-term, incentive-laden deal, but the right-hander agreed to a one-year, $16 million contract with the Reds on Saturday, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported.
The deal officially ends Montas’ disappointing tenure in The Bronx, which included pitching just 41 innings with a 6.15 ERA across a season and a half after coming over in a trade from the Athletics.
The 30-year-old missed almost all of 2023 after undergoing shoulder surgery in February, but could have offered some potential upside next season if he was able to stay healthy.
Of course, there is another former Yankee that would be a less risky but more expensive option to fill the hole in the rotation: Jordan Montgomery.
The Yankees have plenty of competition for Montgomery, though, as the Red Sox, Mets, Angels, Giants and Rangers are also potential suitors for him.
A year after the Yankees signed Carlos Rodon to a six-year, $162 million contract, Montgomery is in line to land a similar-looking deal coming off playing a key part in helping the Rangers win the World Series.
The irony is that if Rodon had pitched the way the Yankees believe he is capable of in 2023, they may not have as big of a need for someone like Montgomery to bolster the rotation behind AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.
But after the Yankees traded away Michael King as part of the Juan Soto blockbuster and then missed out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese ace who landed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers, they are still on the hunt for a starting pitcher.
For a rotation that features plenty of question marks behind Cole — Rodon and Nestor Cortes are coming off injury-plagued seasons in which they struggled when they were able to take the mound while Clarke Schmidt will be trying to build off throwing a career-high 159 innings — Montgomery could provide a steady presence, albeit a pricey one.
Upon leaving The Bronx in a stunning August 2022 trade for Harrison Bader, Montgomery took his game to another level.
The left-hander was perfectly solid as a Yankee — a 3.94 ERA across 502 ²/₃ innings — but has earned himself an even bigger payday with how he pitched for the Cardinals and Rangers.
Since the Yankees traded him, Montgomery has the seventh-lowest ERA in the majors (3.17) among qualified pitchers. His 5.7 fWAR ranked 12th (just behind Cole’s 6.0) and his 252 ¹/₃ innings were tied for 16th.
And those figures don’t even account for Montgomery’s postseason performance as he went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in six appearances (five starts) on the way to a World Series championship this fall.
Despite the trade — which came in part because the Yankees didn’t envision him being in their playoff rotation in 2022 — Montgomery has insisted there is “no bad blood” between himself and his former team, which would seem to leave the door open for a potential return.
Either way, the Yankees still need to add at least one starter after gutting some of their upper-level pitching depth to land Soto and Alex Verdugo.
But they are in something of a tricky position: There is pressure to go all-in on 2024, knowing that it could be their only season with Soto.
But if the Yankees hand out any big contracts this offseason, that could be taking away from the dollars they might be able to offer Soto next offseason in hopes of keeping him in The Bronx.
