The New York Yankees are a World Series contender and were regarded as “buyers” at the non-waiver trade deadline earlier this month. That’s why it was so surprising to see the team trade one of its top pitchers.
The Yankees traded pitcher Jordan Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 2 for Harrison Bader. Bader has been out with a foot injury, while Montgomery has merely gone 4-0 with a 0.35 ERA in four starts for the Cardinals.
On Monday night, Montgomery threw a complete game 1-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over the Cubs.
Newsday’s Anthony Rieber tweeted that many Yankees pitchers watched the end of the Cardinals game on TV. Rieber added that the Montgomery trade was and remains a “shock” to Yankees players.
https://twitter.com/AnthonyRieber/status/1561909713423540226
It’s not hard to see why.
Montgomery wasn’t pitching like a Cy Young Award winner with the Yankees, but he was 3-3 with a 3.69 ERA and extremely reliable. Not only was it surprising to see a playoff team trade away one of its rotation members, but Bader was (and still is) recovering from a foot injury at the time.
Yankees executive Brian Cashman may be kicking himself for a while over this deal, especially as the Yankees have faltered in August.
