Yankees Injury Report: Jordan Montgomery could return this season

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2018 Jordan Montgomery is finally throwing again and could be a late-season option for the Yankees. According to manager Aaron Boone, the 26-year-old southpaw threw BP the other day and the hope is that he could start pitching in rehab games soon.

Montgomery has been out for so long that it’s easy to forget just how good he was for the Yankees during his rookie campaign in 2017. He went 9-7 with a 3.86 ERA and 144 K’s in 155.1 IP and finished sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

If he returns in the coming weeks, which Boone says is possible, he probably won’t be built up enough to return as a starter but you can never have too much pitching help so there’s definitely a role for him to fill. He can go to the bullpen and pitch in long relief or he can be a left-handed specialist.

It’s been over 13 months since Montgomery pitched in the big leagues and during Spring Training the expectation was that he’d be able to return at some point in July. However, after he suffered a setback where he experienced shoulder soreness during a bullpen session in June the Yankees shut him down. Now that he’s throwing again a return in late August or early September is much more likely.

In addition to Montgomery, Luis Severino and Dellin Betances could also help the Yanks down the stretch after they were both cleared to resume their throwing programs on Monday. If all goes well Betances will probably be back first because he’s a reliever. Although GM Brian Cashman did say on Friday that the Yanks could opt to use Sevy out of the bullpen as well when he returns.

More from Yankees News

• Diamondbacks outfielder’s comment on Carlos Rodón’s IG raises eyebrows
• Aaron Judge Time interview scared Yankees as much as it scared you
• Why weren’t Yankees in on Kodai Senga now that we know the price?
• Baseball Reference proves Yankees’ Aaron Judge lives rent free in Boston
• Yankees’ Clay Holmes trade just became even bigger disaster for Pirates

As much of a weapon as Sevy would be out of the pen I think they’d prefer to bring him back as a starter even though he’ll probably be on a 75-pitch limit during his starts. If Montgomery comes back and joins Betances in the pen they’d be better off using Sevy as a starter because they’ll have more options to go to in relief and won’t need him to pitch deep into games.

Despite having all this potential help on the way for the stretch run this shouldn’t stop the Yankees from trading for a front of the rotation starter before the July 31st deadline. All three of the pitchers mentioned above are making good progress but it’s certainly not a given that any one of them will actually end up returning this season.

The Yanks can’t wait around and hope that they all come back and pitch like they did before they all got hurt. That’s a risk they can’t afford to take if they’re going to win a championship this October.