Montas was not in perfect health when he joined the Yankees.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Frankie Montas admitted Wednesday that his shoulder wasn’t completely healthy when he was acquired by the New York Yankees at the trade deadline last season.

However, the right-handed starter said he tried to ‘get ahead’ after joining his new team.

Montas, who went 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts last season after arriving from Oakland, is recovering from right shoulder surgery that will keep him off the mound at least until the end of May.

“I tried to move on,” Montás admitted to reporters in his first statement since undergoing surgery a few weeks ago. “I was transferred to a new team and I wanted to show what I was capable of. Things didn’t go as planned.”

The Yankees placed Montas on the disabled list in late September after his second cortisone injection of the season. Thus, he was kicked out of the American League Division Series.

He was on the ALCS roster, but only pitched one inning in Game 1 against Houston.

Montas admitted he continued to have pain when he began a shooting schedule during the playoff offseason. Although he tried to avoid surgery, he knows it was the best option and he is confident he will pitch this season for the Yankees.

“Trust me, I’m one of those people who wants to pitch right now and show what I can do. But things didn’t go the way I wanted, so now I’m trying to rehabilitate myself and come back to help in the way the team needs.”

After Montas underwent surgery on Feb. 21, Yankees manager Aaron Boone described the procedure as cleaning the labrum, without the need to repair the rotator cuff. He added that everything turned out to be confirmed as expected.

The Yankees acquired Montás and reliever Lou Trivino from the A’s on August 1, in exchange for four prospects.

Montas, who turns 30 on March 21 and could be a free agent at the end of the season, made 19 starts last year with the A’s before the trade. He went 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 104 1/3 innings.

In the weeks leading up to the trade, he quit a July 3 start against Seattle after 13 pitches with a sore shoulder and received a cortisone shot before a July 21 three-inning shutout against Detroit.

In his last start for Oakland, he pitched five innings against Houston.