SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Frankie Montas did not give the Yankees much across a season and a half after arriving in a trade, but a reunion in free agency is possible.
The Yankees are mulling Montas as a potential piece for their rotation, sources told The Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, as the offseason kicks into gear this week.
While the Yankees are expected to address more pressing needs this winter — namely fixing their offense which was one of the majors’ worst in 2023 — Montas could offer rotation depth, especially if the club decides to deal an arm to acquire a bat.
The Yankees certainly liked Montas enough to land him at the 2022 trade deadline from the Athletics, though it proved ill-fated.
Montas later admitted that he was not fully healthy at the time of the deal and pitched to a 6.35 ERA across eight starts in 2022 before needing shoulder surgery in February.
Still, the Yankees should now know the 30-year-old Montas’ physical status better than anyone else after he spent most of this season rehabbing at the club’s minor league complex in Tampa.
He made it back in time to pitch out of the bullpen in the second-to-last game of the season, throwing 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Royals.
Manager Aaron Boone had said that weekend he could see a scenario that brought Montas back to The Bronx for next season.
“This guy has been a very good pitcher in this league,” Boone said on Sept. 30. “Still a relatively young man. He’s gotten to spend now over a year with us and really over the last several months as he’s really ramped up his rehab process, I think he’s ingratiated himself down there in the work he’s put in and the leadership he’s shown with some younger guys down in Tampa.”
Montas also said at the time that he hoped to be back with the Yankees.
As currently constructed, the Yankees’ rotation is set to consist of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Michael King and Clarke Schmidt.
The Yankees are also expected to be one of the many teams in on Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Yankees are strongly considering James Rowson as their next hitting coach, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported on Monday.
One source said an offer has been made to Rowson, who spent 2023 as the Tigers’ assistant hitting coach.
Rowson, a Mount Vernon native, previously served six years as the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator — including when Aaron Judge was coming up through the minors.
He was also the Twins’ hitting coach from 2017-19 and the Marlins’ bench coach from 2020-22.
In addition to hitting coach, the Yankees will now be in the market for a new bench coach with Carlos Mendoza leaving to become the Mets manager.
It’s possible that the Yankees could move third-base coach Luis Rojas, the former Mets manager, into the bench coach role.
They could also look for a more experienced voice to serve as Boone’s No. 2.
OF Franchy Cordero, OF Billy McKinney, RHP Jimmy Cordero, RHP Matt Bowman and RHP Ryan Weber also elected free agency on Monday instead of accepting an outright assignment.
After the moves created an open spot on the 40-man roster — the rest were taken by players who had been on the 60-day IL — the Yankees added catcher Carlos Narvaez to it.
The 24-year-old, who finished this season at Triple-A, would have been eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft if the Yankees had not placed him on the 40-man roster.
In what was merely a formality, Cole was named a finalist for the AL Cy Young award on Monday, along with Kevin Gausman and Sonny Gray.
Cole is the heavy favorite to win his first career Cy Young when the award is announced on Nov. 15.