The Yankees may have avoided the worst with RHP Frankie Montas, as he was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday (retroactive to Sept. 17) with right shoulder inflammation – but it’s in the same spot he felt inflammation earlier this year while with Oakland.
“Yeah, nothing changed from the last MRI I had in Oakland. Pretty much the same, which is good, because it’s just inflammation,” Montas told Suzyn Waldman on Tuesday’s edition of The Leadoff Spot on the Yankees’ pregame. “Just let it rest and go from there.”
Montas had a cortisone shot Monday and will be shut down from throwing for about 10 days, which means he won’t pick up a ball until just before he’s eligible to return from the IL on October 2 – but both he and manager Aaron Boone are hopeful Montas can get some game action in the Yankees’ final regular-season series in Texas, which includes a doubleheader on the penultimate day of the season.
“If I can come back during the season, great; we’re shooting for that, but if I have to take longer until the playoffs, I’m going to make sure I’m 100 percent so I can help as much as I can,” Montas said. “If I have to take a little more time, I want to make sure I’m 100 percent.”
“We’ll have to see how this week or 10 days goes well and we can start ramping him up. But we’ve got to get there,” Boone added.
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Montas lasted just 3 1/3 innings in his last start, in which he felt a little impingement in his shoulder pregame, and as Waldman noted, it was clear his “feel pitches” weren’t there.
“The major problem with inflammation is that you feel like an impingement when you try to throw the ball,” Montas said. “Obviously you have limitations, where you can’t throw pitches where you need a little more extension with your arm.”
He knew something wasn’t right, but also wasn’t worried that it was a major issue.
“To be honest, I feel better than I did in Oakland when I had this, so I was trying to keep positive thoughts while waiting to see how the MRIs were,” he said.
Montas could make it back, as the last time he was shut down with shoulder inflammation, he missed just over two weeks – which, in this timeline, could allow him to make a start on the final half-week of the season.
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As he said, though, he would rather wait until he’s fully healthy, but it is indeed disappointing to the righty that he is now shutdown after what has been a sub-optimal tenure in pinstripes: a 6.35 ERA in 39 2/3 innings over eight starts.
“It’s disappointing, because it’s not the way I wanted to come here and pitch,” he said. “I wanted to show what I can do and help the team get to the playoffs, but if I need to take a little more time now and then just come back in my playoffs and do my thing….it’s better to be 100 percent than 50 percent.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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