In the waning minutes of the 2024 Spring Training, Jordan Montgomery finally has a home with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Will he be enough to push them past the Dodgers?
In the waning minutes of the 2024 Spring Training, the last of Scott Bora’s ‘Core Four’ free agents has signed with last year’s NL Pennant Winners.
Jordan Montgomery and the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed on a 1-year deal for $25 million, with a vesting option for a second year. The vesting option will kick in and potentially grow depending on how many starts the big lefty makes this season.
Montgomery became one of the premiere free agents after helping the Rangers win the 2023 World Series as a rental piece acquired at the trade deadline.
After starting the year in St. Louis, Montgomery threw 67.2 innings to the tune of a 2.79 ERA over 11 outings. The southpaw was one of three pitchers in 2023 to have 18 or more starts of 6 IP and 2 ER or less allowed, with just Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell as his company.
This regular season came ahead of a postseason where he threw a team-leading 31 innings pitched with a 2.90 ERA and 17 strikeouts to just 5 walks. Montgomery highlighted his playoff run with three outings in the ALCS, where he recorded 2 wins and allowed just 2 runs in 14 innings.
The longtime Yankees starter was shipped out of New York at the 2022 trade
deadline for Cardinals centerfielder Harrison Bader. The change of scenery instantly improved Montogmery’s numbers in 2022, and once St Louis fell out of playoff contention in 2023, a homecoming for the Texas native made too much sense to pass up on.
