Jordan Montgomery took the ball to the Diamondbacks tonight in their series opener against the Angels. It's the left-hander's 10th start of the season, an expected but remarkable feat. It officially activates the player's 2025 option on his contract with a base value of $20MM.
Montgomery had a disappointing first trip through free agency last winter. Although it was reported that he started looking for a contract that is close to or exceeds seven years and $ 172MM which Aaron Nola acquired from the Phillies, that didn't happen. Montgomery stayed on the market longer than any other leading free agent before agreeing to terms with the Diamondbacks before Opening Day. He signed a one-year guarantee with a $25MM salary and a conditional player option.
That starts at $20MM for his 10th start. That amount will increase to $22.5MM in 18 starts and $25MM if he starts 23 games. Montgomery wasn't scheduled to make his team debut until April 19. He needed a few Triple-A appearances to build his workload after sitting out during Spring Training. He'll still have plenty of time to make it to 23 starts and increase option value if he stays healthy.
At the signing, the conditional player option looked more like injury prevention than anything else. Montgomery was expected to decline and return to free agency in search of the long-term contract that eluded him last season. However, his performance in the first season did not put him in a good position to return to the market.
After throwing 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball tonight, Montgomery owns a 6.58 earned run average in 52 innings. He struck out just 13.7% of the batters he faced – easily the lowest rate of his career and nearly eight points below his 21.4% last season. His 8.2% walk rate is a few points above average. Montgomery entered tonight's outing averaging nearly 92 MPH on both his sinker and four-seam fastball. Each pitch sat north of 93 MPH last year.
It's hard to say how much of that decline is due to Montgomery's late signing and unusual offseason preparation. Maybe he'll get a little more speedy and look more like his age as the year goes on. Before his stay in the desert, Montgomery was the picture of consistency. He reached the 30-start mark in each season between 2021-23. The southpaw has allowed between three and four earned runs in nine with solid strikeout and walk rates all three years.
The Montgomery signing capped a difficult offseason for an Arizona team looking to build on its Cinderella pennant run. The snakes had returned Lourdes Gurriel Jr.earned Eugenio Suárez and it went down Eduardo Rodriguez with a four-year deal to stabilize the circulation. None of these purchases got off to a good start. Gurriel is hitting at a league-average level. Montgomery struggled. Suárez hasn't hit well enough that the Snakes are reportedly looking at alternatives at third base and could try to shed some of his $12MM salary. Rodriguez suffered a lat strain during Spring Training and has been on the injured list all season.
That contributed to a disappointing 31-35 start that has Arizona sitting in fourth place in the NL West. The thinness that exists beyond the top four teams in the National League, however, gives hope to everyone except the Rockies and Marlins. The last two Wild Card spots are currently held by teams at or below .500. Although down four games, the Snakes are one game out of the postseason picture.
Along with Rodriguez's absence, the D-Backs were absent Zac Gallen again Merrill Kelly a few weeks ago. Montgomery is the most established member of the rotation that includes as well Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson again Slade Cecconi at the moment. Gallen and Kelly have begun tossing around plans.
Since Montgomery opened the season on assignment to Triple-A, he won't be eligible for a qualifying offer if he hits free agency next winter. His slow start and player option will compound any attempts to trade him if Arizona falls out of the playoff race. The D-Backs have an estimated $64MM in guaranteed commitments for next season, as calculated by RosterResource.
Montgomery's option could put him in the $84-89MM range depending on how many starts he makes. The D-Backs will likely exercise the $7MM option to keep Kelly and will owe Gallen a raise on this year's $10.011MM salary in his final year of arbitration. Christian Walker, Joc Pederson again Paul Sewald they are their top free agents. Montgomery could still join them, but it would take a better second half than what he has been able to do so far. When he retests the market, he will be doing so with a new representation. Montgomery switched from Boras Corporation to Wasserman in April.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
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