Under The Knife 9/19/22
Jobe's Hand on Cy Contenders
The achievements of pitchers like Spencer Strider, Shohei Ohtani, and Jacob deGrom get all the more amazing when you consider all of them wouldn’t be pitching not that long ago. If they’d come up in the 1980’s or 1990’s, it’s unlikely they would have been Tommy John candidates. It existed, but remember that David Wells was one of the first ten Tommy John guys. It was a much more selective market, as well as a much different pitching environment. Not better, or worse, just different. Today, it’s almost routine, sadly, but we know that it allows talent to come back and that makes it a better game overall.
Tip your cap to Dr. Jobe once again, then let’s get to the injuries:
FRANKIE MONTAS, SP NYY (inflamed shoulder)
The Yankees have the MRI, but they want Frankie Montas to see Dr. Chris Ahmad in New York before any decisions are made. The inflammation in the shoulder is a symptom and not the full issue, but at this stage of the season, any extended shutdown puts the playoff rotation into question and with his disappointing results since coming over as the Yankees big trade piece, the additional question of whether he was damaged goods has been raised by the New York media.
Montas first had shoulder issues in July, just before the trade. He skipped a start but did bullpen work, never shutting down. The issue was described as being in the back of his shoulder, but the A’s medical staff kept him on track. One of the risks of a trade is always that a player loses the comfort of a staff that knows his body and routine, no matter how good they are themselves.
Montas is arb-eligible for one more season before free agency and he’d be an interesting case if he can’t come to terms with the Yankees. Doubling or tripling his salary would still have him under a qualifying offer and even with the injury issues, some team is going to take a chance on his stuff. I’ll be curious to see if Montas can have a full off-season with the Yankees pitching development and conditioning staff.
The Yankees should get Luis Severino back this week off the 60-day. His rehab has gone well and he’d slot right in for Montas and could push him out regardless.