Why Reds have confidence in Frankie Montas, who had shoulder surgery last year

New Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Frankie Montas smiles as he speaks about the shoulder injury that cost him close to the entire 2023 season.

It’s been 11 months since he had shoulder surgery that kept him on the injured list until the end of September, 2023. He signed a one-year, $16 million deal with the Reds on Tuesday and will get his chance to prove he’s still the pitcher who was on Cy Young ballots in 2021 and a pitcher who every contender coveted at the trade deadline in 2022.

He’s able to smile about the injury because of what he has already accomplished this offseason. He’s seeing confirmation the injury is behind him.

“This has been better than a normal offseason, my brother,” Montas said. “I want to show up to spring training and be ready to throw two or three innings and not try to go to a long buildup. I’m trying to go out there ready to go pitch. This has been an exciting offseason, exciting because I’m having a better than normal offseason for me. It’s been really exciting.”

In a normal offseason, Montas wouldn’t throw a bullpen session until the middle of January. This offseason, he’s already throwing 15-to-20 pitch bullpen sessions to get ready for spring training. Montas hit 95 mph when he returned to the mound for the New York Yankees last September and sees good signs with his velocity for 2024.

The Reds’ deal with Montas was pending a physical, which president of baseball operations Nick Krall called a big part of this process. Krall said the Reds went through an MRI and made sure Montas will be ready to go heading into the spring.

“He's good, and he’s healthy,” Krall said. “We think that with where he's been and who he was in the past, being able to come back and throw – still have 95 average velocity last year – we think there's a lot left in his tank.”

Montas has been on the Reds’ radar for years. When the Reds traded third baseman Todd Frazier in a three-way deal in 2015, they went with a package that got them Brandon Dixon, José Peraza and Scott Schebler from the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a part of the trade, Montas went from the White Sox to the Dodgers

Going for the Dodgers’ package didn’t work out for the Reds. But they knew they liked Montas even though they didn’t land him.

“Our scouts have liked him for a long time,” Krall said.

In 2022, three pitchers were at the top of the market at the trade deadline: former Reds starter Luis Castillo, former Reds starter Tyler Mahle and Montas. Krall later learned that “Everyone that was in on Castillo was in on Montas, was in on Mahle. We feel that if you’re comparing him to those guys he has a chance to get back to that.”

Signing Montas creates a ripple effect across the rotation, and the Reds have their best rotation depth in years. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Abbott, Brandon Williamson and Connor Phillips have all shown their upside at the big league level. The Reds targeted Montas and Nick Martinez in free agency.  Carson Spiers, Lyon Richardson and Christian Roa would be contenders for a spot in the Opening Day rotation for a team with average depth.

If everyone stays healthy, then Krall said the Reds would option starters to Triple-A and move others to the bullpen. Even established pitchers will have to earn a rotation spot.

“We hope everyone is healthy, but the fact is that the average team used about 15 or 16 starters last year,” Krall said. “We’ve seen it where we haven’t had enough pitching at times. I think it’s just trying to build more depth and figure out where everybody fits. Are there guys who are going to be on innings limits or pitch limits coming out of the chute? Maybe. But I’m not sure I’m ready to say that right now. It’s a wait and see. Let’s see where everybody is and let’s see where we go moving forward. The group is healthy or should be ready for the start of camp and let’s go from there.”

Krall said that “you can never have too much starting pitching depth,” but Montas gives them more than that. Unlike the other starters in his price range on the free agent market, Montas provides the upside of a pitcher who can lead a team to a win in a playoff series.

Because of his injury history, Montas also has a lower floor than some pitchers in his price range. He has only pitched more than 100 innings in a big league season twice in his career. Montas’ injury history shaped his free agent market, and he’s betting on the Reds’ ability to help bring the best out of him.

“I don’t feel like I have a chip on my shoulder,” Montas said. “I just want to go out there and compete. I just want to go out there and show what I can do when I’m healthy and help this team as much as I can. Hopefully we go all the way. I want to contribute and put myself out there for the team and the players.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why the Reds bet on Frankie Montas, despite a previous shoulder injury