New York Yankees fans, including myself, were happy to see Jordan Montgomery return from Tommy John last season. But, it was a very short-lived return. He threw only 4 innings, with a 6.75 ERA. It wasn’t great. Now, with a stacked rotation, and Brian Cashman throwing his full weight behind JA Happ as the number 5 man in the rotation, just where does Monty fit in on the team?
Stop Gap for German
Domingo German is suspended through June. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Happ can be traded by June, clearing a spot in the 5 man rotation for Monty to stay in the rotation when German comes back from (obviously) a couple of tuneup starts in the minors. But you still have to fill the void between Opening Day and German’s return from suspension. I’m completely against openers, especially with how we saw the bullpen implode at the worst possible time last season (the ALCS). And with the new rules about “You have to face 3 batters, if you’re not the guy who gets the final out of an inningâ€, the Yankees should steer clear of an opener during German’s suspension.
Long Man in the Pen
One of the confusing parts about the use of Chad Green as an opener was that they only had him throw one inning. We know he’s capable of at least 2. If we’re going to go with the opener, why would we empty our pen every 5 days, why would we not use Monty and Cessa as a tag team for the opener days? Monty throws 3 innings, Cessa throws 3 innings, then Ottavino, Britton, Chapman. That way, we develop a couple of you g, controllable future fixtures in the starting rotation, while keeping our arms in the pen fresh, and we’d have 2 long men out of the pen, which helps us in the situation where we get blown out.
Option Him to Scranton
He has a couple of options left, like Andujar. He could start the season at AAA, then get called up. But, AAA hitters aren’t Major League hitters. Monty could slay for the Rail Riders, but get shellacked on the big club. We know Monty is a major league caliber pitcher, he should start on the big club. It’s just anyone’s guess where he’ll end up.