Jordan Montgomery thinks he can pitch for Yankees in August

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A lot still has to go right between now and then, but Jordan Montgomery believes he can be back on the mound for the Yankees sometime in August.

“August is what they’ve been telling me,” the lefthander said Friday morning at the club’s minor-league complex in Tampa after throwing a 30-pitch bullpen session.

Montgomery, who had Tommy John surgery last June 7, said he hasn’t experienced any setbacks in his rehab  and will add breaking pitches in his next bullpen session. He is scheduled to throw 35 pitches Tuesday.

“I’m starting to kind of see some light at the end of the tunnel in the bullpens when I’m throwing the ball and it’s going where I want it to,” he said. “So it’s a good feeling.”

Montgomery, 2-0 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts before leaving his start in Houston on May 1, 2018 with the elbow injury,  finished sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 after going 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA in 29 starts.    

He burns to be back in the big leagues but knows he can’t rush it.

“No one wants to be down here rehabbing, especially when so many guys are hurt,” Montgomery said. “You just want to be part of it. [I have to] make sure when I get back, I’m back for good, though.”

Getting antsy

Didi Gregorius, who has been rehabbing at the minor-league complex as he continues to recover from offseason Tommy John surgery, took grounders about 1 ½ hours before first pitch Friday at Tropicana Field.

“I’ve been trying to get into games since April,” Gregorius said with a laugh.

If there are no setbacks, he likely will begin playing in extended spring training games as the DH on May 20.

Gregorius described his hitting sessions as “really good.”

“I don’t feel anything while I’m hitting,” he said. “I’ve been feeling really good and ready to go.”

Green return soon?

Boone said reliever Chad Green, demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on April 23 because of ineffectiveness, potentially could rejoin the Yankees at some point this weekend. Green has a 2.45 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings in three appearances for Scranton.

Farquhar on mound

Righthander Danny Farquhar, who suffered an aneurysm and brain hemorrhage on April 20, 2018, between innings of a game while pitching for the White Sox, allowed two unearned runs during two-thirds of an inning Friday in his first extended spring training game. Farquhar, who signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees in the offseason and appeared in three spring training games, spent the last month building arm strength.

Rays acquire d'Arnaud

The Rays acquired former Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud from the Dodgers for cash on Friday. He was released by the Mets on May 3 and signed two days later by the Dodgers.

The deal was announced several hours after the Rays put starting catcher Mike Zunino on the 10-day injured list with a strained left quadriceps. Zunino could miss four to five weeks. Backup catcher Michael Perez also is on the IL and will be sidelined another two to three weeks because of a strained right oblique. Tampa Bay started rookie Nick Ciuffo at catcher on Friday night in the series opener against the Yankees.

D’Arnaud, 30, was 0-for-1 in one game for the Dodgers after going 2-for-23 in 10 games for the Mets.

With AP