Arizona Diamondbacks Reportedly Sign Left-Handed Pitcher Jordan Montgomery

The National League West has been a destination for several big-name free agents this offseason. The signings continued on Tuesday, when the Arizona Diamondbacks reportedly agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report it and posted on X that the deal is on, pending a physical.

According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the deal will pay Montgomery $25 million in 2024. He’ll also have a $25 million vesting option for a second year. Heyman and Joel Sherman confirmed the agreement on Tuesday night, reporting that Montgomery will have to make 10 starts this season to make the second year vest.

Montgomery, 30, opened last season with the St. Louis Cardinals before the Texas Rangers acquired him at the trade deadline in the wake of a Max Scherzer injury. He went on to be a postseason hero, culminating with the team’s first title last fall.

His high-profile free agency almost dragged out beyond Opening Day and he is reportedly joining the team that roughed him up in Game 2 of the World Series. In his lone World Series start, he threw six innings and gave up four earned runs on nine hits, walked one, and didn’t record a strikeout against his new team.

Montgomery finished the postseason 3-1, with one win against the Tampa Bay Rays and two against the Texans’ in-state rival Houston Astros. He had an ERA of 2.90 across six appearances (five starts) and 31 innings. He struck out 17 hitters, walked five, and gave up 10 earned runs.

Overall last season, he went 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA, 166 strikeouts, and 48 walks across 188 2/3 innings and 32 starts.

His addition to the D-backs comes at a clutch time, as their projected No. 3 starter Eduardo Rodriguez will miss the beginning of the season with a left lat strain. Montgomery will figure into the rotation as the No. 2 starter behind ace Zac Gallen and ahead of Merill Kelly, followed by Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt.

On paper, the D-backs suddenly have a starting rotation that rivals the rest of the division, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, who combined signed Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, and Blake Snell this offseason.

Montgomery is joining his fourth team since being traded from the New York Yankees in 2022 to the Cardinals. The Yankees picked him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft out of South Carolina. He has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons with a career mark of 38-34 and a 3.68 ERA. Montgomery has amassed 705 strikeouts in 755 innings.