The Yankees were dealt a brutal injury blow on Wednesday when manager Aaron Boone revealed that starting pitcher Frankie Montas is set to undergo shoulder surgery, according to ESPN.
The procedure and subsequent recovery is expected to keep the Yankees’ 2022 trade deadline acquisition sidelined for most of the season. Boone told reporters Wednesday that Montas will have the surgery on Feb. 21, and his return date is unclear. The initial expectation, however, is that the right-hander will be out for most, if not all, of the 2023 MLB season.
Boone revealed the injury on the same day pitchers and catchers reported to camp for spring training in Tampa, FL.
The Yankees acquired Montas in a trade with the Athletics at the 2022 MLB trade deadline. He struggled in his first taste of life in the pinstripes, recording a 6.35 ERA across eight starts. He missed the postseason due to injury, and now figures to be sidelined for most of the upcoming campaign.
The injury to Montas is the second to New York’s starting rotation in as many days. Nestor Cortes was expected to represent Team USA at the World Baseball Classic but pulled out due to the emergence of an injury.
With Montas potentially out for the season, Clarke Schmidt and Domingo German figure to be the most likely candidates to take his spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation, joining the likes of Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, and Luis Severino.
After a brutal second half of the season stalled what was a historic start to the year in the Bronx, the injury bug is already rearing its ugly head for the Yankees before Spring Training games even get underway.
