Jordan Montgomery rumors: Ranking 5 suitors as offseason slows to a crawl

At the 2022 trade deadline, the New York Yankees made the fateful decision to trade Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for Harrison Bader, as they believed Bader was better-suited for their plans in October. All Montgomery has done since that trade is prove Brian Cashman wrong.

Montgomery pitched the Cardinals into the playoffs that season and followed that up with a career year in 2023. The southpaw posted a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts and 188.2 innings of work pitching for the Cardinals and Rangers. Once he was traded from St. Louis to Texas, Montgomery once again stepped up, not only helping Texas make the playoffs, but win the World Series.

Despite having as good of a platform year as he could’ve hoped for, Montgomery remains unsigned just days before pitchers and catchers start to report. Montgomery is likely asking for a boatload of money, and with Scott Boras representing him, who knows when his asking price will go down? While it may not feel like it, eventually, Montgomery is going to sign somewhere. Any of these five teams make a whole lot of sense when that does happen.

5) The Angels need a frontline starting pitcher of Jordan Montgomery’s caliber

Starting pitching was an area of need for the Los Angeles Angels entering the offseason. We’re now in mid-February and all the Halos have done in that area is sign Zach Plesac to a one-year deal. Obviously, that’s not good enough.

Plesac can be a fine depth option for the Halos, but what they really need is a frontline arm. Blake Snell makes a whole lot of sense in that regard, but so does Jordan Montgomery, who might even make more sense for a team like the Angels.

The Angels have one of, if not the worst farm system in the majors right now. While signing Snell makes a whole lot of sense for their MLB team, with Snell having the Qualifying Offer attached to him, the Halos would have to forfeit a draft pick. With Montgomery not eligible to receive a Qualifying Offer, he comes with no draft compensation, allowing the Angels to add another prospect to a depleted farm system.

In addition to the Qualifying Offer situation, Montgomery is also a more durable and reliable arm than Snell. No, he does not have Snell’s ceiling, but he’s the kind of guy you can rely on to take the ball every fifth day and give your team a chance to win just about every time out. Snell can pitch a shutout one start but then follow that up by giving up three runs and walking six batters over four innings.

What the Angels need more than anything is consistency, and that’s what Montgomery can provide. He can be a real stabilizer in a rotation that can be better than people expect but has plenty to be concerned about.

4) The Phillies can create an elite three-headed monster in their starting rotation by adding Jordan Montgomery

The Philadelphia Phillies landed one of the top pitchers available this offseason by re-signing Aaron Nola on a big deal. Bringing Nola back was a must for a Phillies team trying to get over the hump and win the World Series in 2024, but adding more to a rotation that could use another arm makes some sense.

The Phillies have one of the best duos in the National League with Zack Wheeler and Nola, but the rest of the staff leaves a lot to be desired. Ranger Suarez had a bit of a disappointing 2023 and has never made 30+ starts in a season. Taijuan Walker faltered down the stretch to the point where he simply was not used in the playoffs. Cristopher Sanchez pitched really well out of nowhere in 2023 but is another guy they’d likely prefer to bypass in a postseason series.

Adding Montgomery gives the Phillies a trio every National League team will fear with him joining Wheeler and Nola. They’d have arguably the best rotation in the National League by adding Monty.

The only question here is will they be willing to add another massive contract to their long list of big-money deals. It’d be foolish to count the Phillies out with how much they’ve spent in recent offseasons, but it’s probably unlikely barring a big price drop. Still, Bob Nightengale of USA Today pegging the Phillies as a potential sleeper team for Montgomery has to mean something, right?

3) Jordan Montgomery can be the big splash that the Giants have been waiting for

The San Francisco Giants have missed on every big-name free agent they’ve seriously pursued in the last couple of offseasons. They now have a chance to finally land a star with multiple available as Spring Training approaches.

While Cody Bellinger makes some sense for the Giants, what they really need is some starting pitching. The way their rotation shakes up behind Logan Webb leaves a whole lot to be desired for a team trying to squeak into the playoffs.

The Giants are hoping for big things from arms like Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, but Harrison in his rookie season and Hicks being converted into a starting pitcher don’t inspire much confidence even with them both having electric stuff.

Harrison has never thrown more than 113 innings in a professional season, and Hicks has never thrown more than 105 back in 2017. The most he’s thrown in a MLB season is 77.2 in 2018. Adding an innings eater like Montgomery to take some of the stress away from the bullpen would help immensely.

If the Giants are able to tread water enough for when reinforcements like Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray get healthy, the Giants suddenly will have the makings of a scary postseason rotation. A lot would have to break their way, but even if they’re playing for 2025, Montgomery is a great arm to have.

2) The Red Sox have no excuse to let Jordan Montgomery sign anywhere else

The Boston Red Sox have an argument as the top Montgomery suitor because of the sheer number of reasons why it makes sense. Let’s start with the fact that the Red Sox need starting pitching. Their rotation was bad in 2023, and swapping Chris Sale for Lucas Giolito might make it worse. Sure, Giolito is more likely to take the ball, but how productive is 32 starts from a guy whose ERA could hover around 5.00 for a third straight year?

Montgomery gives the same durability Giolito provides while also being an all-star caliber arm when he takes the ball. The Red Sox have a potent offense, so they don’t need Montgomery to throw no-hitters every time he takes the mound. They just need him to deliver quality starts, which he’s more than capable of providing.

What makes Montgomery such an intriguing target for Boston is the fact that he’s literally in their backyard. Montgomery is spending his offseason in Boston while his wife starts her residency in the city. Chances are, if the money is right, he’d jump at the opportunity to stay there.

Additionally, Montgomery would have extra motivation to pitch against the Yankees after what transpired a couple of seasons ago. He can become a hero in Boston if he pitches well against the Bronx Bombers.

The lone deterrent here is the money. The Red Sox have been hesitant to spend all offseason. Who knows if they’re going to ever show a willingness to spend, but if they were, Montgomery would be the guy to spend on. There is no real reason why the Red Sox, a big market team, should let a legitimate frontline starter who happens to be spending the offseason in their city sign anywhere else, yet that still feels like the likely outcome.

1) The Rangers remain the most ideal landing spot for Jordan Montgomery

The Texas Rangers’ TV deal appears to be in place for this upcoming season, so if they are interested in re-signing Jordan Montgomery, it’s time for them to show it. We know Montgomery’s first choice is to stay in Texas, it’s on Chris Young and Co. to get a deal done.

Why this should happen is fairly obvious. The Rangers likely don’t make the playoffs, let alone win the World Series, without trading for Jordan Montgomery. He was that good.

The southpaw posted a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts in a Rangers uniform to help them squeak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, and then he posted a 2.90 ERA in six postseason appearances (five starts) to help them win their first-ever World Series title.

As important as Montgomery was for Texas in 2023, he’s arguably more important for them now. We knew Jacob deGrom was going to be out for most, if not the entire 2024 season, but now Max Scherzer is joining his former Mets teammate on the IL to start the season. New free agent signing Tyler Mahle is also going to miss a large chunk of the 2024 season.

The Rangers have Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning penciled into their 2024 rotation as of now, but that fifth spot leaves a lot to be desired with Cody Bradford the likely leader in that race for now.

The Astros added Josh Hader and are likely favorites to win the AL West as a result of that signing. The Rangers responding by bringing Jordan Montgomery back on top of an improved bullpen with guys like Kirby Yates and David Robertson joining the fold could give them the edge over Houston in one of the more exciting division races this upcoming season.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as Jordan Montgomery rumors: Ranking 5 suitors as offseason slows to a crawl.