BOSTON — Jesus Montero is due to arrive to the Yankees today, not to be September window dressing. But, instead, to see if he can become an October option.
No Yankees official would publicly acknowledge Montero’s imminent promotion when rosters expand. But as I was first to report online yesterday, Montero is indeed scheduled to be in Boston today. And don’t be surprised if he is in the lineup tonight against lefty Jon Lester.
Because the first door open to Montero is going to be the regular DH against lefty pitching and then the Yankees could see if the youngster could expand upon that to DH against all pitching. It is one reason the Yankees do not want to be discussing Montero right now; because it would be yet another moment – coincidentally during another Yankees-Red Sox series — in which they could be slapping down Jorge Posada.
One Yankees official acknowledged Montero is coming with a chance to win a significant job and another member of the organization said definitively, “By the playoffs, he will be our best DH option.”
Montero hit .328 against lefties in Triple-A this year with 18 extra-base hits, including nine homers, in 116 at- bats.
As Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said, “His numbers vs. lefties are unbelievable (1.039 OPS). If that translates up here, you have to highly consider him for a role.”
After Lester, the Yankees will face two lefties (Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil) in a three-game series over the weekend against Toronto before getting at least two southpaws (Jo-Jo Reyes and Zach Britton) in four games against the Orioles.
So, the Yankees’ best hitting prospect is going to get a shot and it will be among the fascinating subplots of September what he does with it. For while there is great debate about whether Montero actually has the skills to catch, even the majority of his detractors believe he can hit. Last week, when asked about Montero, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said without hesitation that he would grow into a middle-of-the-order factor in the majors.
In fact, there have been times Montero has been compared with Venezuelan countryman Miguel Cabrera because of the lightning speed of his bat and the ability to drive the ball to right-center with power; a particular asset in Yankee Stadium. Cabrera came up to the Marlins as a 20-year-old in 2003 and became an integral figure in Florida going on to beat the Yankees in the World Series.
“It is fair [because of his talent] to say he can do it [be like Cabrera],” Long said. “But there are so many intangibles that go along with success here. So do I expect that kind of impact? No. Can it happen? Yes. But it is unfair to put expectations on someone who has not done it. But this is someone with as much hitting upside as anyone in the minors.”
The major concern about Montero involves maturity. He does not turn 22 until November and — among other items — his work ethic and day-to-day concentration have been in question. There were Yankees officials who claimed Montero became bored with Triple-A and that his attention was only galvanized if he saw a reason essentially to show off. For example, with Cashman in attendance a few weeks back, Montero homered on a 97 mph fastball from Ryan Madson, who was on an injury rehab.
When Alex Rodriguez was recently on injury rehab, members of the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate suddenly noticed Montero was taking extra batting practice.
Rodriguez did not want to get into Montero’s temperament, but he said of the righty slugger’s skills: “He can hit in the major leaguers and be a factor to help us win games this year.”
A major-league chance should get Montero’s attention and, again, that opportunity should come initially against lefties. If Montero can handle the role, he could become the DH vs. southpaws with Andruw Jones in left and Brett Gardner becoming a late-game option to defend or pinch-run.
It is a crash course, obviously; not much time for Montero to prove himself. But there is a path to the postseason roster available, perhaps a shot even at a full-time job with Posada finally being completely de-emphasized.
The wait for Montero’s Yankees arrival ends today. Let an intriguing subplot of September begin.