SEATTLE — The buzz surrounding Frankie Montas as one of baseball’s most sought-after pitchers ahead of the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline has only heightened with each start. However, an early exit on Sunday now leaves his immediate future in question.
On a cold Seattle afternoon with heavy rainfall in the surrounding area at the first pitch, gloom came over T-Mobile Park’s visiting dugout as the A’s saw their ace depart Sunday’s 2-1 loss against the Mariners after just one inning with tightness in the back of his right shoulder.
There was an immediate cause for concern with how Montas’ stuff looked in the first. Surrendering a leadoff homer to Julio Rodríguez as part of a 13-pitch frame, Montas maxed out at just 94.5 mph with his fastball, a pitch that had reached as high as 99.1 mph over his previous two outings. Overall, Montas’ velocity on his four-seamer was 2.4 mph slower than his season average, while the velocity on his sinker was 2.7 mph lower.
After an evaluation of Montas’ shoulder by team doctors revealed some inflammation, he is expected to undergo an MRI when the A’s return to Oakland on Monday to determine the severity of the issue.
“Frankie went out in that first inning and we noticed that the velo was down,” said manager Mark Kotsay. “We checked in with him after he came in and he had some tightness and just didn’t feel like he could get fully extended. In that situation, we’re gonna err on the side of caution.”
Montas noted that an inability to recover the way he normally does after a start following his outing at Yankee Stadium earlier in the week may have been a contributing factor to Sunday’s alarming situation. While the soreness felt no different to what he’s experienced throughout the year, seeing his velocity readings on the stadium radar gun was an uneasy feeling for both Montas and the A’s training staff, leading to a joint decision to end his outing.
“I’m always sore,” Montas said. “Usually I’ll go out there and pitch and it gets better. But my velo has never been down. I felt like the best thing was to come out of this game and take a better look at [the shoulder].”
Emerging as a workhorse for the A’s who has ranked among the AL’s leaders in innings pitched over the past two years, Montas has managed to avoid a stint on the injured list as a Major Leaguer for the entirety of his seven big league seasons. Initial strength tests revealed no sign of a major injury. While Monday’s…
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