Right now, the New York Yankees have to be feeling good about the strength of their starting rotation.
Gerrit Cole is healthy after returning from his elbow issue in 2024 that kept him out for a good chunk of the season. They signed Max Fried to a monster contract to give themselves a second ace. Manager Aaron Boone is singing the praises of Carlos Rodon. And they also have the reigning AL Rookie of the Year winner Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt to round out the unit.
On paper, this is one of the best starting fives in Major League Baseball.
However, it didn't used to always be that way, with Cole producing at the top of the rotation but those slotted behind him putting up inconsistent results.
That led to the Yankees making an aggressive move to acquire Frankie Montas ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, hoping that his addition would create a strong one-two punch.
But, it didn't work out that way.
Montas struggled mightily with New York, posting a 6.35 ERA across his eight starts with the team.
That was surprising since he had been an above-average starter with the Athletics, even recording a 3.18 ERA across his 19 starts before he was dealt to the Yankees.
Outliers happen, especially whenever a player changes scenery, so there was confidence Montas could regain his past form with an offseason to work on his craft and get used to his new surroundings.
However, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in February 2023, causing him to miss virtually that entire campaign until he came back for one appearance at the end of the year out of the bullpen.
After spending last season with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, the right-hander signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the New York Mets this winter.
The hope was Montas would give the Mets another quality starter in their rotation which is the one clear weakness of that roster.
But, the injury bug has bitten him again.
Per Jon Heyman and Mike Puma of The New York Post, he is suffering from a lat injury that will cause him to be shut down for a significant stretch. Further details were added by Tim Healy of Newsday Sports that indicates Montas "has a high-grade right lat strain" and "won't throw for 6-8 weeks" while he gets a PRP injection to treat it.
That's tough news for the veteran.
He had been a solid starter during his time with the Athletics, sitting with a 111 ERA+ across his six-and-a-half seasons there.
But his move to the Yankees is the demarcating line from when his career has gone off the rails, and his return to the Big Apple has gotten off to another poor start, this time with the Mets.
