TAMPA, Fla. — Frankie Montas said that his shoulder wasn’t fully healthy when he was acquired by the New York Yankees at the trade deadline last season, but the right-handed starter said he tried to “push through” after joining his new team.
Montas, who went 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts last season after being obtained from Oakland, is recovering from shoulder surgery that will keep him from throwing until at least late May.
“I was trying to push through,” Montas told reporters in his first comments since surgery two weeks earlier. “I got traded to a new team and wanted to show what I could do. Things didn’t go the way I was expecting.”
The Yankees placed Montas on the injured list in late September after his second cortisone injection of the year, knocking him out of the AL Division Series. He was on the roster for the AL Championship Series, but pitched only one inning in the opener against Houston.
Montas said he kept experiencing discomfort when trying to begin a throwing program during the offseason. While he tried to avoid surgery, he said that was the best option, and that he is confident that he will pitch this season for the Yankees.
“Trust me, I’m one of the guys that wants to be out there pitching right now and showing what I can do,” he said. “But things didn’t work out that way, so just trying to rehab and come back so I can help with whatever they want me to do.”
After Montas had surgery Feb. 21, Yankees manager Aaron Boone described the procedure as the pitcher having his labrum cleaned up without any repairs being needed on his rotator cuff. Boone said everything went according to plan.
New York acquired Montas and reliever Lou Trivino from the Athletics on Aug. 1 in exchange for four prospects.
Montas, who turns 30 on March 21 and could become a free agent after this season, made 19 starts for the A’s last year before getting traded. He was 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA over 104 1/3 innings.
In the weeks before the deal, he left a July 3 start at Seattle after 13 pitches with shoulder tightness, then had a cortisone shot before returning with three scoreless innings July 21 against Detroit. He went five innings against Houston in his last start for Oakland.
