New York Yankees: Jordan Montgomery injury expedites starting pitching need
By Alex Jordan
The New York Yankees rotation takes a big hit as they lose Jordan Montgomery for the foreseeable future to Tommy John surgery.
The New York Yankees announced on Tuesday that left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery will have Tommy John surgery. The surgery will happen on Thursday. He will miss the rest of the season.
The surgery will fix an elbow injury that Montgomery suffered in early May. Montgomery threw just seven pitches in a game against the Houston Astros on May 1.
He was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his elbow. Originally, he was only going to miss six to eight weeks but having the surgery will likely keep him out until late next year.
Montgomery was 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA in six starts this season. He hasn’t pitched since May 1. Domingo German replaces Montgomery in the rotation and will continue filling in that role.
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Losing Montgomery is proof that the Yankees need some pitching help. Starting pitching is a weakness for the Yankees this season. Luis Severino has been the best starter as he is the only starter with an ERA under 3.50.
CC Sabathia has been good. However, Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray have struggled and German is just an unproven rookie.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees were going to be in the trade market for a starting pitcher, even if Montgomery was returning this season. Now, the Yankees need German to be more than just a placeholder in their rotation.
Even with a healthy return by Jordan Montgomery, #Yankees were going to be in trade market for a SP. Now, the young lefty is lost for yr needing Tommy John surgery. Hits at NYY SP depth. They need Domgino German to be more than a placeholder now.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) June 5, 2018
The big question now is who can help the Yankees rotation if German can’t step up and keep his new spot in the rotation and prove himself?
Justus Sheffield, who has a 3.80 ERA in Triple-A, is the Yankees best pitcher in the minors. However, he just got to Triple-A so the Yankees won’t move him up until he’s ready.
The team’s other minor league pitcher or feasible option is Chance Adams. He currently has a 5.26 ERA in 11 starts. However, it is unlikely that he is moving up sooner than he should be.
The Yankees need to find a starting pitcher that can help them out as the season progresses otherwise their rotation will continue to be mediocre.
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The Yankees are off to an amazing start. It should not be wasted because they cannot acquire another starting pitcher. This needs to happen sooner rather than later.