After Frankie Montas told reporters that he wasn’t “100 percent healthy” during his debut season with the Yankees, many saw it as another indictment on Brian Cashman’s job for acquiring an injured pitcher at last year’s trade deadline.
Montas, who missed time with the A’s before the 2022 trade with shoulder inflammation, struggled badly with the Yanks down the stretch, eventually missed time for the same issue, and underwent shoulder surgery in February that could cost him the entire season.
When asked about it on Thursday, Cashman defended the due diligence the team did last summer before pulling the trigger on Montas, the latest starter from the A’s that didn’t live up to expectations in New York (Sonny Gray is the most notable disappointment).
“I know he said clearly he was hurt, but I think in terms of context, it’s easy for him to say that now,” Cashman said, via the New York Post. “But when we got him, he said he felt great, he was feeling 100 percent and ready to go. I feel like he was genuine and sincere. So you go through the medical deep dive that you can do in-season.”
Montas did tell reporters during his struggles after the trade last year that his shoulder was fine, which would support Cashman’s claims. But clearly, he wasn’t the same pitcher he was in 2021 or at the start of 2022 in Oakland, and now, the Yankees may never see that version of Montas.
“You deal with the player when you get him and how he’s feeling,” Cashman said. “Everything came back good and aces, and without concern. But it didn’t play out that way.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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