Frankie Montas said he was not "100 percent" healthy last year when he was traded to the New York Yankees and emphasized that he expects to pitch this season.
Montas is expected to miss at least the first half of this season after undergoing surgery last month on the labrum in his pitching shoulder. The right-hander told reporters Wednesday that he tried to "push through" shoulder issues when he joined the Yankees last season after an Aug. 1 trade with the Oakland Athletics.
"I was trying to push through," Montas told reporters, according to MLB.com. "I got traded to a new team and wanted to show what I could do. Things didn't go the way I was expecting."
Montas went 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with the Yankees last season and didn't pitch after Sept. 16 because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder. At the time of the trade with the A's, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said New York was "comfortable with where he's at shoulder-wise."
Montas said Wednesday that he will resume throwing in nine to 10 weeks and "for sure" will pitch in 2023. The Yankees have not provided a specific timetable for when the eight-year veteran will return.
With Montas sidelined, right-handers Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt are competing for the No. 5 spot in New York's starting rotation behind Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino and Nestor Cortes.
Montas, who turns 30 on March 21, went 5-12 with a 4.05 ERA in 27 starts last season with New York and Oakland.
