The New York Yankees made several mistakes in the past few years. As a result, the Bronx Bombers have not yet managed to reach the World Series since 2009. It has been a long time for a whole generation of Yankee fans to see their team become the World Champions. Instead of reaching the World Series, the NY side has failed to make the postseason a few times in the last decade. Like last year saw the 27-time champions fail to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Why has the Yankees failed to live up to expectations over a decade?
Perhaps they could not make the right choices. For instance, a couple of years ago, the Yankees signed Frankie Montas after the trade deadline acquisition. He could not really help the team very well in the next two years. Hence, it seemed like the pitcher was a big flop for the Bronx Bombers. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old pitcher has pretty good experience and skills. Who knew if he could turn out to be a pretty good teammate teaching them new pitches?
Lately, Dennis Santana Learned A New Cutter From Montas
On Tuesday, Dennis Santana told reporters, as per NJ Advance Media, that the ex-Yankees starter taught him a new pitch. Santana opened for the Yankees in an 8-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. Anyhow, the non-roster invitee of the Yankees faired well with the new pitch he learned from Montas. During the past off-season, Frankie Montas taught Santana a new cutter. Moreover, this pitch has made Santana look really impressive. On Tuesday, Dennis Santana mentioned that the new cutter is his go-to pitch. Moreover, the non-roster invitee is doing well throughout the spring training with the new pitch. Dennis noted that he trusts it because it has been amazing.
On top of that, Santana thinks it is one of his best pitches at the moment. Both Santana and Frankie Montas trained together in Arizona over the last winter. Santana said Frankie taught him this special cutter grip like a couple of months ago. Moreover, the Dominican reliever mentioned that it has been unbelievable ever since. Adding to that, the 27-year-old pitcher mentioned in 2023 that he did not know about the special pitch. Now, when he is throwing to the left-handed hitters, he won’t have to go “Inside or away with a two-seam fastball.” All he can do is just go up and in with the cutter. Then, even his changeup can play better as well.
Yankees Manager Praised The Cutter Too
Before the Yankees faced the defeat on Tuesday, Aaron Boone mentioned that he thought the cutter was a real deal. He added that when they first saw Santana practicing in the spring, right away, they were like, “The new pitch is real.” Moreover, the Yankees skipper mentioned that the new cutter could be a real potential weapon for Dennis Santana moving forward.
It is an added strength to the rest of the “Arsenal that’s strong.” After five games, Santana posted a 1.17 ERA with 10 strikeouts after 7 2/3 innings. On Tuesday, the non-roster invitee proved that he can throw 100 mph with his fastball. After all, the Dominican touched 98 mph.
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