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Yankees: Jordan Montgomery reveals mentorship texts from Andy Pettitte

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 04: Andy Pettitte #46 of the New York Yankees reacts after the Yankees turned a double play to end the top of the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Six of the 2009 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on November 4, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

If you’re a bend-don’t-break lefty in the New York Yankees farm system whose gumption sometimes outshines his stuff, then odds are you’ve heard the Andy Pettitte comparisons.

Jordan Montgomery, though, has embodied the snarling lefty better than most in recent years, and it appears the comp has been endorsed by Pettitte himself.

So Monty’s got that going for him.

Turns out when Pettitte’s not leading the recruiting pitch for free agents like Gerrit Cole, he’s firing off encouraging texts to Montgomery, as the lefty revealed Tuesday after his two-inning spring debut.

Monty will be an especially important piece for this team in 2021. After all, his dependability and low variance in the latter part of the rotation helped encourage the Yankees to take big swings atop it with Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber.

He explained that both Pettitte and CC Sabathia, with whom he shared a locker room from 2017-19, both text regularly, and Pettitte’s notes have been extremely on-message ahead of this season.

Better than mine, eh? If Pettitte wants Montgomery to emphasize his heater, then that says a lot about the offering.

Pettitte’s always been forthcoming with his advice to younger pitchers; you may recall him helping Sabathia himself undergo a cutter-heavy makeover towards the back end of his distinguished career.

There’s no doubt the southpaw has a future instructing pitchers — and perhaps, someday, he’ll even be willing to work with a righty, too.

Of course, not everyone can just be Andy Pettitte. A 3.81 postseason ERA and 19 wins doesn’t just craft itself, and placing such expectations firmly on Montgomery’s shoulders isn’t quite fair to the 28-year-old, who’s still looking for a full-season follow-up to his excellent 2017 campaign.

Last year’s postseason brought about a very Pettitte-esque opportunity for Montgomery, though, who proceeded to strand men on base and help keep the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALDS until the bats awakened just enough to save the season temporarily.

If Montgomery continues to trust his fastball like Pettitte’s advised, the moderate-ceiling sky could be the limit. It’s a darn good pitch, after all.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.