Yankees: Jordan Montgomery hints team chemistry off the charts

OK, spring training’s been great. The Yankees are 12-4. Everyone who needs to look good has looked either good or great. Some people we’ve never heard of before have forced their way to the forefront of the roster conversation.

So can we simply sim to Opening Day now?! Because this team is ready to compete.

In case you weren’t already ready for these games to count, lefty Jordan Montgomery gave fans plenty more reasons to believe on Wednesday, both with his performance against a strong Blue Jays lineup and his postgame commentary.

This pitching staff is feeding off each other extremely well, and it’s Corey Kluber’s performance that perhaps has Montgomery the most encouraged.

Stuck with an off day Wednesday, Kluber will throw a BP session instead of a game.

Expect Montgomery and his other Yankees teammates to be in attendance, based on the way the big lefty was praising the Klubot’s efforts Wednesday.

Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery and Corey Kluber have given the team renewed hope.

The Yankees made a bet this offseason on at least one of their two acquisitions in Kluber and Jameson Taillon “hitting” as a reliable No. 2 starter behind Gerrit Cole. In the early going, both men have brought an advanced feel for pitching entering their comeback seasons.

Those who are watching closely see the “old” Kluber, and we’ll choose to believe them.

Rooting for your fellow pitcher in the ‘pen is nothing new, but Monty’s comments make it seem as if each Yankee is hanging on their predecessor’s every pitch.

His team chemistry discussion on this week’s R2C2 podcast should come as no surprise, then.

Awesome. Just…awesome.

Don’t sell yourself short either, Jordan, because the burly lefty has been looking far more like a No. 4 with a No. 2-3 ceiling this spring rather than a crafty pitcher just barely hanging on at the bottom of the rotation.

Both the stuff and the gumption he displayed last postseason have been on display, and his five hitless innings against the Blue Jays’ starters on Wednesday were the best example yet of his advancing skills.

In the span of just a few weeks this offseason, the Yankees went from a dangerously thin rotation to a core of very intriguing arms.

This spring, their potential rotation ceiling has been lifted even further with the reemergence of Domingo German and young mastery shown by Deivi Garcia, as well as encouraging outings from Kluber and Taillon — and don’t sleep on Luis Severino’s way-too-good first bullpen.

We’re not claiming the work is done, but thus far, each member of the rotation seems enamored with the man who came before him. Just get us to April already. We’re done crossing fingers and hoping the momentum makes it to the games that matter.

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