The New York Yankees are set to be without three of their top five starting pitchers to begin the season. Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil are all on the sideline. While Schmidt and Gil are expected to return this year, Cole isn’t.

Without those three, the Yankees have a very depleted rotation that many believe is one of the worst units in the league. But they could look to reunite with a former starting pitcher to replace Carlos Carrasco in the Bronx.

Arizona talk show host John Gambadoro recently reported that Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery had been generating trade interest from multiple teams. It’s unclear which teams are showing interest in the lefty, but the Yankees would make sense.

Montgomery spent the first 5 1/2 years of his big league career with the Yankees. During that time, he posted a 3.94 ERA in 97 starts. After an incredible season in 2023, the lefty struggled mightily last season before accepting his player option worth north of $20 million for the 2025 campaign.

The Diamondbacks would likely be willing to eat about half of the lefty’s salary to trade him. Arizona may even include a lower-ranked prospect in a deal in order to get rid of Montgomery’s contract.

The Yankees could add him to the rotation as a low-risk move while bringing in a prospect to make the deal worth it. All they would have to do is eat a chunk of his expensive contract, which might not be an issue considering how badly the Yankees need pitching.

If the lefty can return to the kind of pitcher he was in 2023, this deal would be massive for the Bronx Bombers. It’s definitely something they could and should explore.