Left-hander Jordan Montgomery figures to be among the many most sought-after free brokers on the beginning pitching market this offseason. With righty Aaron Nola having already returned to the Phillies on a seven-year deal earlier this week, solely recently-posted right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and reigning NL Cy Younger award winner Blake Snell evaluate rank forward of Montgomery on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents checklist by way of beginning pitching choices for 2024. Whereas the Yankees, Cardinals and Red Sox have each already been linked to the southpaw this offseason, Montgomery can be receiving curiosity from the group he simply received the World Collection with. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Rangers “hope” that they’ll have the ability to convey Montgomery again into the fold this offseason.
That’s hardly a shock, given the wonderful type he confirmed since being shipped to Texas by St. Louis over the summer time. In 11 begins following that deadline deal, Montgomery posted a sterling 2.79 ERA that was 60% higher than league common by measure of ERA+ with a FIP of three.27. Whereas his 2023 strikeout price of 21.4% was extra stable than elite, his already sturdy 6.2% stroll price this season improved to an exceptional 4.9% determine throughout his time with the Rangers down the stretch. Montgomery paired his capability to restrict the free move with a 43.2% groundball price that positioned him simply outdoors the top-20 by that metric amongst certified starters this season. It was extra of the identical throughout Montgomery’s six postseason appearances for Texas this October, throughout which he posted a 2.90 ERA in 31 innings of labor.
Montgomery’s sturdy 2023 caps off a trio of three seasons which have seen the southpaw set up himself as a top quality front-end starter for a playoff-caliber group. In splitting his time between the Yankees, Cardinals, and Rangers from 2021-23, Montgomery has posted a 3.48 ERA and three.62 FIP whereas making not less than 30 begins in every of these seasons. Over the previous three seasons, Montgomery is one in all simply 20 pitchers to report not less than 500 innings of labor, a feat that establishes him as one of many recreation’s premiere workhorses at this level in his profession.
Given his latest efficiency and the variety of groups identified to be available in the market for beginning pitching this offseason, Montgomery is not less than a believable match for loads of golf equipment. The Rangers are actually included in that. Whereas the membership’s Opening Day rotation can not less than be plausibly full of Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, and Andrew Heaney, each Dunning and Heaney hung out within the bullpen for Texas in 2023 along with their time within the rotation. It’s additionally value noting that every of Scherzer, Eovaldi, and Grey spent vital time on the injured checklist this previous season, whereas Heaney has a prolonged harm historical past of his personal.
Whereas ace righty Jacob deGrom might return from Tommy John surgical procedure someday subsequent season, deGrom wouldn’t precisely present dependable innings coming off the second Tommy John surgical procedure of his profession and with simply 186 2/3 innings of labor over the previous three seasons of his profession. Given the substantial harm threat within the Rangers’ at the moment projected rotation, reuniting with Montgomery can be a wise determination so as to add some stability to a front-of-the-rotation image that in any other case includes a pair of oft-injured veterans in Scherzer and Eovaldi and will add a 3rd arm befitting of that description in deGrom later within the 12 months.
In fact, a deal is hardly a slam-dunk even despite the clear match and curiosity on Texas’s finish of the equation. In spite of everything, Montgomery has already been linked to 3 different groups this offseason and loads of golf equipment are in want of beginning pitching assist and will enter the marketplace for his companies because the offseason progresses. What’s extra, the Rangers are anticipated to make bettering the membership’s bullpen a spotlight of their offseason after the membership’s aid corps posted a brutal 4.77 ERA in 2023. Although the addition of Montgomery would enable the membership to enhance the bullpen by shifting Heaney or Dunning right into a multi-inning aid function, the membership’s bullpen would possible profit way more from the addition of a late-inning arm like Josh Hader or NPB lefty Yuki Matsui.
Such a signing wouldn’t essentially preclude the Rangers from including Montgomery, as they’ve hardly shied away from making a number of vital additions in latest offseasons. That being mentioned, it’s honest to not less than surprise how a lot the membership plans on rising its payroll (which already sits at $214MM for subsequent 12 months in line with RosterResource) in mild of recent reporting that Diamond Sports activities Group is contemplating dropping Rangers broadcasts forward of the 2024 marketing campaign. If Diamond have been to take action, it will go away the Rangers and not using a distribution associate for native broadcasting, a actuality that has already led the Twins toward cutting payroll this offseason.
