Yankees: What role will Jordan Montgomery fill in 2019?

Jordan Montgomery is likely to miss a chunk of the 2019 season as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. The Yankees will be cautious not to rush him back too soon, but he is expected to return at some point after the All-Star break.

After today’s official signing of J.A. Happ, the Yankees starting staff for 2019 is pretty much set. On paper, a rotation of Severino, Tanaka, Paxton, Happ, and Sabathia is clearly better than the team’s rotation a season ago and it should be one of the best in baseball next season.

However, given the injury history of CC, Paxton, and Tanaka there’s no guarantee that everyone can stay healthy next season so there’s a chance the Yanks still sign or trade for a sixth starter to give them some depth. If not they do have youngsters like Domingo German, Chance Adams and Jonathan Loaisiga who can step in. Although that’s a route the front office may not want to go in because of their inexperience. All three have the potential to pitch in a big league rotation someday but the guy who would be the best option to have in the case of an injury is Jordan Montgomery.

Montgomery is obviously still out working his way back from Tommy John surgery and it’s a shame because in 2017 he delivered one of the best seasons from a rookie starter in recent franchise history. He was one of the biggest surprises in a season full of them, impressing with a 9-7 record, a 3.88 ERA and 144 K’s in 155.1 IP.

The 25-year-old southpaw is never going to wow anybody with his stuff or overpower hitters but one thing he showed in 2017 was that he knows how to pitch. His fastball usually sits in the low 90s but he combines it with an array of breaking pitches that enables him to induce a lot of soft contact. He’s also been extremely effective again left-handed hitters during his brief career (.173 OPP BA) which is one of the reasons why I think he could be a key contributor next season.

Long term I still think Montgomery projects to be a solid middle of the rotation starter, but he’ll be more valuable in 2019 filling in wherever the Yankees need him. Even if one of the starters goes down with a long-term injury, Montgomery may not be the answer to step in because he’ll probably be on an innings limit and a pitch count. He’s coming off a serious injury and once he’s cleared the Yanks will ease him back into the fold so starting him every fifth day is highly unlikely.

That’s not to say he can’t contribute next season because there could come a time where the restrictions on him are lifted sooner than expected. Once that happens the Yankees pitching staff as a whole will only improve.

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In the meantime, until we see Montgomery healthy and back on the big league roster it’s hard to predict where he fits into the Yankees plans for next season. Ideally, he could fill in as a spot starter or be the team’s primary long man out of the bullpen, but if he shows signs of rust he might be better off pitching at Triple-A because he still has options left.

Depending on where the Yankees stand next summer and what their needs are from a pitching standpoint there’s a chance Montgomery might not see much big league action in 2019. I hope that’s not the case because I believe there will be a role for him to fill down the stretch as the team makes their playoff push, but if he’s not ready there’s always 2020.

By that time he’ll definitely be all systems go and he should take his mentor CC Sabathia’s spot in the rotation after he retires. Regardless of how the 2019 season plays out for Montgomery, his future is still very bright and the Yankees and their fans can’t wait to see him back on the mound.