The New York Yankees were hunting for pitching around the trade deadline.
So were the St. Louis Cardinals.
When Luis Castillo was traded to the Seattle Mariners, it became clear that Frankie Montas was the top arm widely available.
The Yanks ended up securing his services in exchange for four prospects: Ken Waldichuk, Luis Medina, JP Sears, and Cooper Bowman.
He had a shoulder scare last month, and had to deal with a death in his family upon joining the Yankees, but Montas hasn’t been as advertised so far.
In fact, a pitcher who the Yankees decided to trade at the last minute of the deadline, Jordan Montgomery, has been far and away the most productive and effective hurler.
“Frankie Montas in 3 starts with the Yankees: 14 runs, 14 IP, 8 Ks. Jordan Montgomery in 3 starts with the Cardinals: 1 run, 16.2 IP, 17 Ks. Looks like we made the right choice not to go after Montas,” Rinedog, a Twitter account that follows the St. Louis Cardinals, tweeted.
Frankie Montas in 3 starts with the Yankees:
14 runs
14 IP
8 KsJordan Montgomery in 3 starts with the Cardinals
1 run
16.2 IP
17 KsLooks like we made the right choice not to go after Montas #STLCards
— Rinedog (@Rinedog1) August 19, 2022
The Yankees Made A Rare Blunder
Indeed, while the Yankees got a good center fielder in Harrison Bader, he is currently injured.
Montgomery is a very solid pitcher who is good enough to be in a postseason rotation.
For the year, he has a 3.29 ERA in 131.1 innings.
However, Montas was performing even better than that at the time of making the trade with the Oakland Athletics.
He had a 3.18 ERA, with lots of strikeouts.
Three starts aren’t enough to judge trade decisions, but there is no denying that more is expected from Montas in the Bronx.
The questionable decision wasn’t trading for Montas: it was trading Montgomery for an injured asset.
NEXT: Frankie Montas Gives Hope That His Best Is Yet To Come