The New York Yankees starting rotation entered Spring Training as potentially one of the strongest in the American League, and with Opening Day less than one week away, it now looks like one of the weakest. Cy Young Award-winning ace Gerrit Cole is gone for the season thanks to Tommy John surgery. Last year’s Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, the Yankees projected No. 3 starter, is expected to be out for at least three months with a high-grade lat strain. Yankees general manager Broad Cashman said he hopes to see Gil back on the mound “sometime in the summer.”
Fifth starter Clarke Schmidt has struggled with back and shoulder issues, and is now predicted to start the season on the injured list, according to a Friday report in the New York Post.
That leaves the defending American League champions with a rotation headed by Max Fried, the Yankees major free agent acquisition of the offseason, followed by 32-year-old two-time All-Star Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, 38-year-old Carlos Carrasco — who posted a bloated 5.64 ERA for the Cleveland Guardians last season — and rookie Will Warren who allowed 26 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings in 2024.
Rotation Help Could Come in Form of a Former Yankee
The Yankees pitching staff, it appears, needs help. And they could find it in the form of their own 2014, fourth-round draft pick Jordan Montgomery — who was the Arizona Diamondbacks’ prized free agent signing in the 2023-2024 offseason. But Montgomery has been a major disappointment for Arizona — so much so that the team’s owner has publicly called him out.
“If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re talking to the guy that should be blamed,” said Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick in a radio interview toward the end of last season. “Looking back in hindsight, a horrible decision. To have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did. It’s our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint, and I’m the perpetrator of that.”
Harsh words. But words borne out by Montgomery’s numbers from 2024. For their $25 million, the Diamondbacks received a bloated 6.23 ERA in just 117 innings over 25 games. It should not be surprising, then, that according to John Gambadoro of the sports talk radio station 98.7 in Phoenix, several teams have already expressed interest in taking the 32-year-old Montgomery off of Arizona’s hands.
Montgomery Due $22.5 Million Paycheck for 2025
A trade would likely require the Diamondbacks to cover a significant percentage of Montgomery’s salary which after he chose to exercise his player option for 2025 is set at $22.5 million. For the favor of relieving them of what Kendrick called “our biggest mistake,” the Yankees could offer a lower-level pitching prospect. One candidate would be Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz a 21-year-old righty acquired by the Yankees when they sent catcher Carlos Narváez to the Red Sox this offseason.
Yankees director of pitching Sam Briend told NJ Advanced Media that Rodriguez-Cruz is “electric.” But the young pitcher is still assigned to Single-A Hudson Valley and is presumably a few years away from the Major Leagues.
But if Montgomery can recapture his form of 2023 when he posted a 3.20 ERA between teh St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers — helping propel the Rangers to their first and only World Series championship — he could be a valuable pickup who could help solidify the Yankees’ rotation in Cole’s year-long absence.
