The New York Yankees pulled off a stunning trade deadline swap with the St. Louis Cardinals that saw Jordan Montgomery head to the NL Central contenders in exchange for center fielder Harrison Bader. While the trade has drawn mixed reactions from fans, Montgomery himself was clearly struggling to come to terms with the Yankees' decision to offload him, in what was a surprising move on the part of the organization.
During a press conference after news of the trade broke, Montgomery got brutally honest on his emotions after the Cardinals deal went down, via Yankees insider Bryan Hoch.
Jordan Montgomery reacts after being traded by the #Yankees to the Cardinals: pic.twitter.com/JQl3iIaSkk
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 2, 2022
“This is my family, this is all I know. I've been playing with the same guys for years,” Montgomery said before thanking his trainers, coaching staff, and teammates in New York. “It's tough.”
The trade clearly came as something of a surprise to Montgomery, and he couldn't hide his emotion when talking to the media. Montgomery has been in the big leagues with the Yankees since 2017 and has been a mainstay in the starting rotation in each of the past two seasons.
This year was one of Jordan Montgomery's best. The 29-year-old has maintained a 3.69 ERA throughout his first 21 starts, striking out 97 batters across 114.2 innings. He registered a 3-3 record, often struggling to pitch deep into games, and walked 23 batters. Home runs were something of an issue for Montgomery, who surrendered 15 on the year. In total, Montgomery made 98 appearances for the Yankees, including 97 starts, and posted a career 3.94 ERA.
Montgomery became something of an odd man out after the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas at the trade deadline. While he could have remained in the rotation amid Luis Severino's injury, the Yankees opted to upgrade defensively in center field by acquiring Bader, putting an end to Monty's time in the Bronx.
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