Jordan Montgomery Archives - Page 3 of 16

Game 54: Another Game, Another Possible Rainout

June 2, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Because it’s the Yankees and because it’s a day that ends in -y, there is rain in the forecast today. Enough of it for a flash flood watch in Baltimore. The heaviest stuff is supposed to arrive a little later this afternoon, so I’m not sure what the plan is. Wait it out or try to squeeze an official game in? Whatever. The weather sucks but there’s nothing we can do about it.

If the Yankees do play today, they’ll look to win their fourth straight game and further improve their MLB best winning percentage. The standings are weird right now. The Yankees have the best winning percentage in the game but they are a half-game behind the Red Sox because they’ve been rained out so many times. Those games will be made up soon enough. Just keep winning games and keep winning series. Here are today’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Greg Bird
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. SS Didi Gregorius
7. CF Aaron Hicks
8. 3B Miguel Andujar
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Baltimore Orioles
1. RF Joey Rickard
2. CF Adam Jones
3. SS Manny Machado
4. DH Mark Trumbo
5. 2B Jonathan Schoop
6. LF Trey Mancini
7. 1B Chris Davis
8. 3B Danny Valencia
9. C Chance Sisco

RHP Kevin Gausman

Like I said, there’s rain in the forecast this afternoon. Today’s game is scheduled to begin at 4:05pm ET and you’ll be able to watch on YES. Enjoy the game.

Injury Update: Jordan Montgomery (elbow) played catch again today. That is at least the fourth time he’s thrown on flat ground. I wonder how much longer it’ll be until he gets up on a mound.

Awards! Gleyber Torres has been named the AL Rookie of the Month for May, so congrats to him. Torres hit .317/.374/.659 (176 wRC+) with nine homers in 24 games last month. He’s the first Yankee to named Rookie of the Month since (who else?) Judge last year. Judge was the AL Rookie of the Year in April, May, June, and September last season.

Update (3:42pm ET): The tarp is on the field and the game will not start on time. There’s no word on a start time, and given the forecast, we might be waiting a while. Sucks.

Update (5:08pm ET): The game is tentatively scheduled to begin at 5:45pm ET. How about that?

Game 53: Let’s Try This Again

June 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

So here we are again. Last night’s series opener at Camden Yards was rained out and rescheduled for next month, so this four-game weekend series is now a three-game weekend series. Except there’s more rain in the forecast tonight. Not nearly as much as last night, thankfully. Looks like they’ll be able to play tonight’s game in its entirety at some point. There is some rain in the forecast though. Yuck.

Anyway, whenever they play tonight, Sonny Gray will be on the mound looking to once again bounce back from a poor start. It’s been one step forward, one step back all season. Really more like one step forward, two steps back. It’s June now. The season isn’t young. It’s time for Gray to right the ship, otherwise the Yankees are going to have to replace him. The AL East race is too close to keep running him out there without signs of improvement. Here are the starting lineups.

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Greg Bird
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. CF Aaron Hicks
7. 3B Neil Walker
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Sonny Gray

Baltimore Orioles
1. 3B Jace Peterson
2. CF Adam Jones
3. SS Manny Machado
4. DH Mark Trumbo
5. 2B Jonathan Schoop
6. 1B Chris Davis
7. LF Trey Mancini
8. C Chance Sisco
9. RF Joey Rickard

RHP Andrew Cashner

Like I said, there is some rain in the forecast tonight, though not as much as last night. We’ll see how things go. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:05pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy.

Injury Updates: Gary Sanchez is okay. Aaron Boone said he wanted to give him back-to-backs days away from catching this week, partly because of his calf issue last weekend, and yesterday’s rainout is a chance to give him back-to-back-to-back days away from catching, so they’re taking advantage of it … Miguel Andujar is fine too. Boone just wanted to get Walker into the lineup … Jordan Montgomery (elbow) played catch again today. He’s progressing well but still has a ways to go in his rehab work.

Rotation Update: The Yankees will call someone up to start one of the doubleheader games Monday, according to Boone. They won’t start A.J. Cole or Adam Warren. Masahiro Tanaka pitches tomorrow, Domingo German starts Sunday, Luis Severino and a call-up will pitch in the doubleheader Monday, and CC Sabathia will pitch Tuesday. For what it’s worth, David Hale threw 6.1 innings for Triple-A Scranton on Wednesday and lines up perfect to start Monday.

Game 49: Rubber Game

May 27, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The bad news: Last night’s game happened. What a stinker. The good news: There’s another game today. The best and worst thing about baseball is that they play every single day. You can’t enjoy wins too long and you get a chance to bounce back from losses quick. The Yankees and Angels split the first two games of this three-game set, so today’s winner takes the series.

The name of the game right now is run prevention, specifically the need to get better at it. The Yankees have allowed 35 runs in their last five games and they’ve walked 30 (!). Too much. Way too much. After sitting in the 8-10 range in runs allowed per game in the first six weeks of the season, the Yankees have sunk to 14th, a touch better than the league average (4.35 to 4.38). Need to do better than that, dudes. Here are the starting lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Aaron Judge
3. RF Giancarlo Stanton
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. CF Aaron Hicks
7. 1B Greg Bird
8. 3B Miguel Andujar
9. 2B Neil Walker

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Los Angeles Angels
1. 3B Zack Cozart
2. CF Mike Trout
3. SS Andrelton Simmons
4. DH Shohei Ohtani
5. 1B Luis Valbuena
6. 2B Ian Kinsler
7. C Martin Maldonado
8. RF Kole Calhoun
9. LF Chris Young

RHP Garrett Richards

It is raining in New York but it is supposed to stop fairly soon, soon enough that we might get an on-time start this afternoon. If not, there’s still a big enough window to get a full nine innings in today. This is the Angels’ only trip to New York this year, so you can be sure they’ll wait out the rain as long as necessary. Today’s game is scheduled to begin a little after 1pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out of market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Gleyber Torres is a little banged up — his knee, specifically, after attempting a diving catch the other night — so he’s sitting out the day game after the night game. It’s nothing serious and he is available, if needed … Jordan Montgomery (elbow) played catch for the second straight day yesterday. He made 50-60 throws and is progressing on schedule. Montgomery is still a few weeks away though. He has to go from playing catch to bullpen sessions to live batting practice to rehab games, and he has to get stretched back out. I am extremely skeptical of post-elbow injury Jordan Montgomery solving the team’s rotation woes. They need a starter.

Game 45: Facing A Possible Trade Target

May 22, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Tonight, the Yankees have a chance to accomplish two things. One they will accomplish for sure. They’ll get a firsthand look at lefty Cole Hamels, who figures to be a hot commodity at the trade deadline. The Yankees could use another starter and Hamels will likely be available. It’s only a matter of time until the two sides are mentioned in serious trade rumors.

The second thing the Yankees can accomplish tonight? Clinching a series win. It would be their ninth straight series victory, which is bananas. You have to go back to 1998 — the 2018 Yankees seem to be doing a lot of things last done by the 1998 Yankees, huh? — for the last time the Yankees won nine consecutive series. Just keep winning series, baby. Win series and everything will work itself out. Here are tonight’s lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. DH Tyler Austin
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. 1B Neil Walker
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Domingo German

Texas Rangers
1. DH Shin-Soo Choo
2. 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa
3. RF Nomar Mazara
4. SS Jurickson Profar
5. LF Joey Gallo
6. 2B Rougned Odor
7. C Robinson Chirinos
8. 1B Ronald Guzman
9. CF Ryan Rua

LHP Cole Hamels

There is a tiny little bit of rain in the forecast tonight, though nothing heavy and nothing that should really interfere with the game, thankfully. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:05pm ET and YES will have the broadcast. Enjoy the game.

Injury Update: Greg Bird (ankle) could return “sometime this weekend,” said Aaron Boone, though nothing is set in stone … Jordan Montgomery (elbow) will need a “little bit more time before he starts throwing,” according to Boone. Montgomery was placed on the disabled list on May 2nd and, at the time, the Yankees said he would be shut down 2-3 weeks. Sounds like he’ll be shut down a little longer than that … Adam Warren (lat) is already pitching in simulated games in Tampa. He could return to the Yankees as soon as late next week.

Montgomery placed on the 10-day DL with elbow strain, Hale called up

May 2, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

5:12pm ET: During a radio interview this afternoon, Aaron Boone said Montgomery is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a flexor tendon strain. He won’t throw at all the next 2-3 weeks. Montgomery is not out of the woods yet, but all things considered, the initial news could’ve been worse.

3:26pm ET: As expected, the Yankees placed left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the 10-day DL today. He has been diagnosed with a left elbow strain, the team announced, though they did not say anything about the severity of the strain. I imagine we’ll hear more later today.

Montgomery left last night’s start with elbow tightness and went for tests today. A strain may indicate the ulnar collateral ligament has been compromised to some degree. Minor strains can be rehabbed fairly quickly, even in as little as two or three weeks, whereas a severe strain requires Tommy John surgery. The severity of a strain is the big unknown here.

Update: I’m a dolt. The Yankees announced an elbow strain, not a sprain. That one letter makes a big difference! A sprain would apply to the elbow ligament. A strain, which is what Montgomery has, indicates an injury to the muscle or tendon. Pretty big difference. We’ll see what the Yankees say later today. Sprains can be bad, but at least it appears Montgomery’s ligament is sound.

With Montgomery out for at least ten days, the Yankees are expected to use Domingo German in his rotation spot. German tossed four gutsy and scoreless innings in long relief last night. Thanks to off-days, the Yankees will only need their fifth starter twice in the next 22 days. That’s convenient.

In corresponding moves, David Hale has been called up and Jacoby Ellsbury has been transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot. Hale was re-signed to a new minor league contract yesterday and he was set to rejoin Triple-A Scranton. Now he’ll replace German as a long reliever.

Thoughts following Jordan Montgomery’s elbow injury

May 2, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Last night’s stellar win over the Astros came at a price. Jordan Montgomery had to leave the game after a seven-pitch 1-2-3 first inning with what the Yankees are calling elbow tightness. He’s returning to New York today for tests. Yuck. Losing a starter is never good, especially a young starter like Montgomery. Let’s break down this rather unfortunate development.

1. For what it’s worth, both Montgomery and Aaron Boone downplayed the injury following the game. “Maybe I’ll just miss a start. You never know. But I would be surprised if it was something real bad … It’s not like I’m hurting that bad,” said Montgomery to Bryan Hoch and Erik Boland. He added he first felt the tightness two days ago. Okay, so what happens now? Well, Montgomery is going to travel back to New York and squeeze into an MRI tube. The Yankees tend to announce these things fairly quickly, so I imagine we’ll hear some sort of update later today. Hopefully it’s inflammation or something like that. If it’s something more serious, Montgomery will go for a second opinion. They always do. With elbows, it’s hard not to think worst case scenario (Tommy John surgery), and there’s nothing you can do other than hope for the best. The Yankees usually don’t keep secrets with their MLB players. Once Montgomery gets back to New York and is examined, we should know what’s up.

2. I am forever a “play it safe” guy, especially with young pitchers, so I say stick Montgomery on the disabled list even if the MRI brings back good news today. It’s a 10-day DL now. The ten days fly by. Even if it’s a minor injury, just put him on the disabled list, knock out whatever it is, and don’t play shorthanded. No matter what the MRI shows I expect the Yankees to be cautious and put Montgomery on the disabled list later today. They’d need to come up with a spot starter for Sunday, but, after that, they’ll need their fifth starter only once over the following 15 days. They could give Montgomery a nice long rest, let him make a rehab start, and not play shorthanded. Why wouldn’t you do that? I hope the MRI brings good news. If it does, I’d still like to see Montgomery take a quick 10-day DL stint just to make sure he’s a-okay rather than rush him back to start this weekend or whatever. There’s no reason to push him in early May. Missing a few games now is better than missing a lot of games later.

3. Okay, so if the Yankees do put Montgomery on the disabled list, who comes up? There are only two healthy pitchers in the minors and on the 40-man roster: Albert Abreu and Jonathan Loaisiga. Both are Single-A kids and not realistic call-up options. (Abreu made his first start of the season earlier this week after having his appendix removed during Spring Training.) Non-40-man roster options include David Hale (re-signed yesterday), Cody Carroll, and Nestor Cortes. Chance Adams started two days ago and wouldn’t be called up today because he’s not available to pitch. My guess is it would be Hale. Domingo German is the favorite to move into Montgomery’s rotation spot — he earned it with his performance last night and Boone told Hoch that German will “probably” step into the rotation — meaning the Yankees would be short a long reliever. With German not able to pitch deep into games yet and the perpetual concern about short starts, calling up a short reliever like Carroll doesn’t seem like a thing that’ll happen. Letting Hale sit in the bullpen as the seldom used eighth reliever strikes me as the likely course of action, even just temporarily, until the Yankees get to Monday’s off-day. (As for 40-man roster space, I have to think Jacoby Ellsbury is a 60-day DL candidate at this point, so there you go.)

4. German more than held his own last night and as far as I’m concerned, he is far and away the best fill-in starter candidate in the organization right now. Justus Sheffield has been pretty great this year — conveniently enough, he lines up perfectly to take Montgomery’s spot — but he’s yet to pitch in Triple-A and the Yankees have set development goals that I’m not sure Sheffield has achieved yet. I don’t like altering a top prospect’s development plan based on a big league roster need. Teams do it, but it’s not ideal. In this case, with German available, calling up Sheffield doesn’t make sense to me. Adams has not been great in Triple-A this season (5.11 ERA and 4.90 FIP), though he is coming back from elbow surgery, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Yankees looked past his small sample size numbers this year and focused on his overall body of work. Adams could be a Montgomery replacement, for sure. I don’t think the Yankees would go to Adams if this is a short-term injury. If it’s a one or two start deal, it’ll probably just be German. Teams tend to take the path of least resistance. If Montgomery is out longer term, then Adams becomes a more realistic option. Hopefully he rattles off a good Triple-A start or three before getting the call.

5. As for external rotation options, free agency doesn’t have much to offer. Clay Buchholz was released yesterday after a meh three-game minor league stint (16 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 7 BB, 9 K) with the Royals. Kansas City’s pitching staff is pretty thin. If they didn’t think Buchholz could help at all, it’s hard to see the Yankees grabbing him. Other free agents like R.A. Dickey and Ubaldo Jimenez aren’t worth it. They’re probably not ready to step into a rotation anyway. Free agency offers no help. The trade market? It’s still a little early to swing a meaningful trade at this point of the season. Maybe a smart tanking team decides to get out ahead of the market and trade a veteran now before everyone else hangs the “For Sale” sign. Who could that be? The Rangers with Bartolo Colon? The Reds with Homer Bailey? The Padres with Clayton Richard? Yuck. Yuck yuck yuck. I’d never rule out a small depth pickup. The Yankees have a recent history of going internal to solve their roster needs and I expect them to do the same here, while gearing up for a run at an impact pitcher at the trade deadline. The Montgomery injury won’t lead to a rash trade. That’s not how the Yankees operate now. German’s going to get his chance.

Update: Montgomery exits tonight’s start with elbow injury

May 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

9:00pm ET: Montgomery left the game with left elbow tightness and will return to New York to be evaluated tomorrow, the Yankees announced. Yuck.

“We didn’t have any concern (before the game), but yeah, always when a pitcher comes out with forearm/elbow tightness, that’s a concern,” said Aaron Boone during an in-game MLB Network interview. “Hopefully we can get some answers on it tomorrow.”

8:38pm ET: Jordan Montgomery left tonight’s start after one inning with an injury. He tossed a 1-2-3 first inning on seven pitches and looked like regular old Jordan Montgomery, though replays showed him flexing his left arm a bit as he walked off the field. That’s not good. His velocity was fine though.

Here’s the video of Montgomery’s final pitch and the arm flex:

The injury just happened, so the Yankees have yet to announce any updates. It goes without saying losing Montgomery for any length of time would really suck. Domingo German, who replaced Montgomery out of the bullpen, is presumably next in line for a rotation spot.

For what it’s worth, Montgomery has been very durable throughout his career, all through the minors and college. He hasn’t missed a start since high school, maybe earlier. There’s no injury history here. Hoping for good news. Fingers crossed.