Jordan Montgomery reportedly signs with

2024-03-27 01:02:05

Left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery has agreed to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per multiple reports, ending a free agency that nearly dragged out beyond opening day for the Texas Rangers playoff hero.

Montgomery’s contract will pay him $25 million for one year with a vesting player option that pays him an additional $25 million for 2025, per FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

Montgomery, 30, opened last season with the St. Louis Cardinals before the Rangers acquired him at the MLB trade deadline and went on to play a major role in the team’s first World Series championship run, stepping up in the wake of injured teammate Max Scherzer. He was roughed up by the Diamondbacks — his new team — in his World Series Game 2 start but turned in clutch performances in the Rangers wild-card series win over the Tampa Bay Rays (seven shutout innings) and in the ALCS against the Houston Astros, where he allowed just two runs over 14 innings of work across three games.

Montgomery, who came in as FOX Sports’ No. 6 MLB free agent this offseason, went 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA, 166 strikeouts and 48 walks across 188.2 innings pitched (32 starts) in the 2023 regular season. He posted a 4.3 fWAR. Montgomery was also second in the majors in batting average allowed to right-handed hitters (.245).

Montgomery now slots behind ace Zac Gallen, No. 2 starter Merrill Kelly and fellow free-agent addition Eduardo Rodriguez to give the Diamondbacks one of the deepest rotations in Major League Baseball.

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