Yankees' Frankie Montas to Get MRI on Shoulder Injury; 'Optimistic' It's Not Serious

New York Yankees pitcher Frankie Montas will have an MRI on his shoulder after experiencing discomfort following Friday's start against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Montas said he's "optimistic" the injury isn't anything serious.

Montas was pulled from the start after allowing four hits, four walks and four earned runs in 3.1 innings.

The Yankees acquired Montas from the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 1. He was supposed to slot in behind Gerrit Cole to give the Bronx Bombers a dynamic one-two punch at the top of their starting rotation for the stretch run and a potential postseason berth.

Things haven't gone as planned for Montas in New York thus far. The right-hander has a 6.35 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 39.2 innings over eight starts.

During the 2021 season with the A's, Montas finished sixth in American League Cy Young voting. He set career highs in starts (32), innings (187.0), strikeouts (207) and FanGraphs' wins above replacement (4.0).

Montas looked like he was on track to have another excellent season in 2022 prior to the trade. He had a 3.18 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 104.2 innings over 19 starts.

Losing Montas for any length of time would put another dent in the Yankees' rotation depth. Luis Severino hasn't pitched in a game since July 13 because of a lat injury, though he is expected to make his return Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Despite some struggles in the second half of the season, the Yankees are still a safe bet to make the playoffs. They entered Saturday with a 5.5-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East with 18 games left to play.

If Montas has to go on the injured list or miss time, Clarke Schmidt could potentially move back into the rotation after making a couple of spot starts on Aug. 28 and Sept. 3.