Sources: DBacks agree to deal with Montgomery
The Arizona Diamondbacks made one final, stunning addition to their roster with just 48 hours to go before Opening Day, agreeing to a one-year, $25 million deal with free-agent left-hander Jordan Montgomery on Tuesday evening.
Montgomery joins right-handers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez in what looks like one of the better starting rotations in the majors.
Montgomery, 31, is coming off a season in which he posted a 3.20 ERA in 188 2/3 innings for the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, whom he helped win a championship by beating the Diamondbacks in the World Series.
The signing pushes what was already a franchise-record payroll into the range of $170 million. According to a source, the club felt comfortable stretching its budget in large part because of revenues brought in during last year’s playoffs.
Montgomery was widely viewed as one of the top free agents on the market when the offseason began in November and was projected by many to reel in a nine-figure contract. His market apparently did not develop as anticipated, and he was the last prominent client of high-powered agent Scott Boras not to have signed.
The deal is said to have come together in the past week following the injury to Rodriguez, who suffered a strained left lat in a start in Mesa. The injury is not expected to be too serious — Rodriguez is expected to begin playing catch this week — but it was enough of an impetus to open negotiations.
The agreement includes a vesting component for 2025. If Montgomery makes 10 starts this year, it will trigger a $20 million guarantee for next year. He can increase that to $25 million with additional starts. However, he also will have the ability to opt out of the contract.
And because he is not expected to be on the Opening Day roster on Thursday — he has told the club he will agree to a minor-league assignment to build up — he therefore will not be eligible to receive a qualifying offer at the end of the year. He reportedly has been throwing on his own and has built up to the 75pitch range.
Montgomery was a fourth-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2014 out of the University of South Carolina. He pitched parts of six seasons with the Yankees and was largely effective, outside of the years immediately following his 2018 Tommy John surgery.
He was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline in 2022, then flipped to the Rangers last year. He logged a 2.79 ERA in 67 2/3 innings for Texas, and posted a 2.90 ERA in six games (five starts) for the Rangers in the postseason. Ironically, the one game the Diamondbacks won in the World Series — Game 2 in Arlington, Texas — was the one he started, in which he gave up four runs in six-plus innings.
The Diamondbacks’ offseason was already viewed in a positive light given the additions of Rodriguez, third baseman Eugenio Suarez and slugger Joc Pederson, plus the re-signing of outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.