KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Frankie Montas has made it back to the Yankees from shoulder surgery in time for a game that does not have much meaning for the team, but holds plenty of significance for him.
The right-hander is hoping it is not his last game for the team, either.
While that question will not be answered until this offseason when Montas hits free agency, he joined the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium on Friday in hopes of making his season debut on Saturday or Sunday in a piggyback role.
It likely will be only be a two- or three-inning appearance — manager Aaron Boone was not ready to say whether it would be Saturday or Sunday — and it will not make up for what turned out to be a brutal trade with the Athletics last summer.
But for Montas, it was an important milestone to get back seven-plus months after having his cranky shoulder operated on.
“I’m just happy to be here, man,” he said Friday afternoon. “I feel like I needed to do this for myself. It’s been almost a year since I pitched in the big leagues. I feel really good that I’m healthy now. I just want to go out there and pitch and perform.”
Boone appreciated that Montas kept working to get back to the Yankees this season instead of just shutting it down.
“He didn’t have to fight his way to get back to the end to pitch, and he’s done that,” Boone said before the Yankees’ 12-5 loss to the Royals. “He’s done a lot of really good work down in Tampa. He’s put himself in this position to be healthy and ready to go. Obviously not built all the way up, but he’s continued to get after it and continued to grind to be in a position to do this. We certainly respect that. Excited to see him, excited to have him here and hopefully we can get him in.”
The 30-year-old Montas said he hopes to be back with the Yankees next year. Boone said he could see that happening.
If it does, it likely would be on a short-term deal that is heavy on incentives.
Though the Yankees acquired damaged goods in Montas last summer from the Athletics — he later revealed his shoulder was not 100 percent healthy at the time of the trade — one thing they have going for them this offseason is they should know his health better than any other team after having him under their watch for more than a year.
Whether that leads to a reunion this offseason remains to be seen.
As currently constructed, the Yankees are set to have Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon at the top of their rotation next season. Nestor Cortes will join them if his rehab from a rotator cuff strain avoids any speed bumps. Michael King is expected to have a chance to stay in the rotation after nailing his late-season audition this year. And Clarke Schmidt has put together a breakout season this year, even if he has run out of gas lately while setting a new career high in innings.
The Yankees are also expected to be in on Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, though they won’t be alone.
But while Montas’ Yankees career to date has been a bust — posting a 6.35 ERA in eight games last season before landing on the injured list — he is open to having a chance to change that.
“I wanted to come here and show what they got, the type of pitcher they got,” Montas said. “I wasn’t able to do that last year and this year because of my surgery. But looking forward to the future, hopefully it’s here.”
Montas added that he has not yet talked to the Yankees about that possibility. For now, he was just excited to pitch again this season.
“Certainly as he heads into the offseason, I think it does mean something,” Boone said. “Just the fact that he’s here ready to go means a lot to me.”
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