When the Yankees traded Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for Harrison Bader on deadline day, Yankees Universe collectively raised its eyebrows. Not only were they depleting their already-ailing starting rotation of a capable arm, but the player they were getting back was in a walking boot with a best-case scenario return date of mid-September. It was difficult to conceptualize an angle from which this trade made sense, and that’s even more the case six weeks later.
Montgomery was a perfectly serviceable starter for the Yankees, pitching to a sub-4 ERA in almost 400 innings prior to this season while his 3.