New York Yankees: What is the plan for Jordan Montgomery?

Jordan Montgomery was stellar for the New York Yankees in 2017. But if the team keeps adding arms to the staff, he may find himself in the bullpen before next season.

Throughout the previous few weeks, baseball analysts nattered about the New York Yankees and their potential signings. Long-term starting pitchers are on the club’s radar, even though the rotation already contains five – maybe six – reliable guys.

If another pitcher is added, Jordan Montgomery is likely the odd man out. But even if the front office doesn’t bring in a top-tier starter, the young left-hander still might not stick in the rotation for the entire season.

Montgomery was one of the team’s biggest surprises last year. He earned a spot in the big leagues as a result of injury, then ran with it by being efficient on the bump. The southpaw posted a 3.88 ERA with 144 strikeouts despite not having an overpowering arsenal of pitches.

As the season winded down, he was taken out of the rotation, is that the Yankees already had other options for the postseason. Montgomery also tossed 155 1/3 innings, which is considered a lot for a rookie arm.

Nevertheless, he and reliever Chad Green are the big question marks on the staff for the upcoming season. General manager Brian Cashman confirmed Green would head into Spring Training as a starting pitcher. With C.C. Sabathia back, that may not be the case anymore.

Essentially, Green does best when he is in the pen. But if he remains in the rotation, Montgomery might take a long-relief role. Jaime Garcia is gone, and so is Bryan Mitchell – two long-relief options. Adam Warren and Chasen Shreve can provide a bulk of innings, but Montgomery can also eat them up for the Yankees.

After June, Montgomery himself seemed like a long reliever in the rotation. The lefty averaged less than five innings across 15 starts in the final three months of the season.

His WHIP was relatively high due to his issuance of walks. He tied Luis Severino for most walks on the team – Severino pitched 38 more innings, though. Despite posting a high walk ratio and nearly a hit per inning, the southpaw still finished second amongst team pitchers in WAR.

Still, there is much about Montgomery that looks promising. He doesn’t throw hard, with his fastball sitting between 90 and 92 on average. But is off-speed stuff perplexed hitters for most of last season?

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Montgomery’s curveball was his most befuddling pitch, with hitters batting just .170 against it. It was his most effective pitch, with a 44 percent strikeout percentage, per FanGraphs.

His slider and changeup were both above-average weapons as well, as opponents hit .190 and .206 against them respectively.

It is doubtful that he will add speed to his fastball, thus he will have to rely on a variety of other pitches. But that isn’t an issue.

What is one issue for Montgomery is his numbers away from the Bronx? He allowed twice as many home runs and racked up 20 fewer strikeouts in one less start on the road. He allowed the same amount of hits, but yielded more extra-base hits away from home, hence the larger ERA.

The Yankees may have seven capable starting pitchers by the beginning of Spring Training. Whether Montgomery will be a part of the main five – or six – could be a headline by March.

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Until then, Montgomery is part of the back end of the rotation. Either way, he will still be an effective arm for new manager Aaron Boone.