New York Yankees: Jordan Montgomery evaluates his season and is ready for the future

New York Yankees, Jordan Montgomery

The New York Yankees are depending heavily on the healthy, existing starting pitchers on the roster. They lost three arms to free agency: J.A. Happ, James Paxton, and Masahiro Tanaka. They need to find one or two options to start games, but they do have some existing depth to rely on. Gerrit Cole is signed to a long-term deal, and Deivi Garcia and Domingo German are ready to contribute in 2021.

But Jordan Montgomery is one of the New York Yankees’ most reliable options and, as of now, the only lefty in the rotation. He will be tasked with the responsibility of providing stability to a talented, yet inexperienced group (German only has one full season as an MLB starter and Garcia debuted in 2020.)

“I’m excited for the opportunity,” the Yankees southpaw told The New York Post on Thursday, before participating in a Zoom call with New York special needs student-athletes. “I’ve been working three years to get a playoff start. I’m just going to keep building off of that. I’ll be ready for it.”

The Yankees are content with what they got from Montgomery

If you judge the 28-year-old hurler’s ERA in 2020, you will surely think he had a mediocre season. After all, a 5.11 mark isn’t anything to write home about. However, if you look closely, his 3.87 FIP is a more accurate reflection of his ability.

The Yankees have to be pleased with what Montgomery showed in 2020. After not pitching for 13 days, he battled with the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, a Bombers’ 5-1 victory that tied the series that New York eventually lost.

The Yankees’ pitcher said that he “would’ve liked to have two or three more starts [in the postseason], but it was a big start. I gave the team all I had for being so long since I had pitched. Gave us a chance to win and I was happy with it.”

Asked to evaluate his performance this season as a whole, Montgomery said, “I’m pretty happy about it. If I could take two starts away [an Aug. 6 loss to the Phillies and a Sept. 2 loss to the Rays], then it would’ve been a great year. But two out of 10, I’m pretty happy with that. Something definitely to build on out of [Tommy John surgery]. I’m excited for next year.”