March 29: The Diamondbacks have made it official, announcing Montgomery’s signing today, adding that Montgomery has been optioned to Triple-A Reno. Players with more than five years of service time can’t be optioned without their consent, but the lefty presumably agreed to be sent down so that he could get in some work after missing Spring Training while unsigned. The lefty is targeting April 19 for his first start with the Snakes, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
March 26: The Diamondbacks and left-hander Jordan Montgomery are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $25MM pact. The deal includes a $20MM vesting player option for the 2025 season, with Montgomery earning the ability to opt out if he starts at least ten games in 2024. Montgomery’s option will vest at $20MM if he makes ten starts, with an additional $2.5MM added to the option upon reaching 18 starts and 23 starts during the 2024 season. The deal is pending a physical.
The deal brings to a close a lengthy free agency for Montgomery, who defeated the Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series alongside the Rangers just five months ago. Arizona will be the 31-year-old’s fourth team in the past three seasons. Montgomery’s free agent odyssey dragged on longer than anyone could have reasonably anticipated heading into the offseason, when he was widely expected to command a long-term, nine-figure contract. The 2023-24 offseason, however, will be one remembered as an oddity, given the stark number of clubs dealing with uncertainty regarding their television broadcast rights — Montgomery’s incumbent Rangers among them — and about a third of the league facing luxury-tax concerns of some degree.
All of that combined to limit the market for Montgomery and other top-tier free agents, although the left-hander’s lofty asking price on the heels of a career-year punctuated by postseason heroics surely didn’t do him any favors. Even as late into the offseason as early March, the left-hander and agent Scott Boras were reported to be seeking a six- or even seven-year deal. A six-year deal under conventional market circumstances early in the offseason might’ve been attainable, but this offseason’s market simply didn’t bear that. The nature of this new contract with the D-backs will allow him the opportunity to take another bite at the free agent apple next offseason, with some added insurance in the form of a player option that safeguards against a late-season injury.
After spending his entire career until the 2022 trade deadline in a Yankees uniform, Montgomery was swapped to St. Louis in exchange for center fielder Harrison Bader. The southpaw found great success in St. Louis, delivering a 3.31 ERA and 3.50 FIP in 32 starts for the club before he was once again swapped in a deadline deal, this time going to Texas as the Cardinals faced their first 90-loss campaign of the 21st century. His strong performance continued in Texas as he pitched to a sterling 2.79 ERA down the stretch before delivering a 2.90 ERA in 31 postseason innings as the Rangers claimed their first World Series championship in franchise history.
While Montgomery has emerged as a starter capable of comfortably pitching at the front of a playoff rotation in his 50 appearances (both postseason and regular season) since leaving New York, he showed himself to be a quality mid-rotation arm even during his days in the Bronx. While he missed much of the 2018 and 2019 campaigns rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, the lefty pitched to a respectable 3.94 ERA and 3.90 FIP in 98 appearances across five-and-a-half years with the club. During his time in New York, he struck out 22.7% of batters faced while walking just 6.9% and generating grounders at an above-average 43.7% clip. Those peripheral numbers are fairly consistent with the ones he’s posted during his breakout over the past two seasons; since the start of the 2022 campaign, Montgomery has struck out opponents at a 21.6% clip while walking 5.6% with a 45.3% groundball rate.
For the Diamondbacks, the addition of Montgomery further strengthens a starting rotation that the club already took a major step toward addressing when they signed left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year, $80MM deal back in December. When at full strength, the club’s rotation now figures to feature NL Cy Young Award finalist Zac Gallen and Montgomery at the front, with Rodriguez and veteran righty Merrill Kelly in the middle, and youngster Brandon Pfaadt bringing up the rear. It’s a massive upgrade from the club’s 2023 group, which pitched to a combined 4.67 ERA last season. That was a bottom-ten figure in the majors last year and placed the club dead last among all 2023 playoff teams. By signing Montgomery, the Diamondbacks have successfully converted one of their biggest weaknesses in 2023 into a clear strength ahead of the 2024 season, at least on paper.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether that on-paper strength in the rotation will yield results. Availability remains a major question mark for the starting staff in Arizona entering the regular season, as neither major pitching addition will open the season in the club’s rotation. Rodriguez was shut down last week due to a lat strain and has no announced timetable for return. As for Montgomery, John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix reports that the club doesn’t expect him to be ready for at least “a few weeks.” Previous reports had indicated that Montgomery had built up to 75 pitches in his offseason workouts, though said training is no replacement for facing live hitting in organized ball.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the delayed start to the southpaw’s season comes with what could prove to be a significant financial benefit. Because Montgomery has agreed to start in the minor leagues to ramp up for his D-backs debut, Piecoro indicates that the left-hander will be rendered ineligible to receive a qualifying offer should he return to free agency this winter. That removes perhaps the most significant drawback Montgomery faced in signing a short-term deal this winter, as his midseason trade from St. Louis to Texas allowed him to enter free agency unencumbered by draft pick compensation. Had he been eligible for the QO this coming winter, he’d run the risks of facing a deflated market as a qualified free agent. That possibility is now no longer a concern.
The addition of Montgomery sends Arizona’s already franchise-record payroll to new levels after an offseason spending spree. In addition to Montgomery and Rodriguez, the club also fortified their outfield mix with Joc Pederson, Randal Grichuk, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in free agency while swinging a deal to land third baseman Eugenio Suarez to bolster their infield. Those additions wound up bringing the club’s estimated payroll (per RosterResource) to more than $167MM, with a $215MM figure for luxury tax purposes. Both numbers blow Arizona’s past records of $132MM in 2018 and $155MM in 2023 (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts) out of the water as the club enters 2024 eager to return to the postseason and establish themselves as a top contender in the NL alongside clubs such as the Dodgers, Braves, and Phillies.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the sides had reached an agreement. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the salary terms for 2024 as well as the 2025 vesting option. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported additional details regarding the nature of the vesting option.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
What happened to Boston?
Ownership signed Chase Anderson. They’re not trying to win in 2024.
Disgusting! Given the deal he signed and his spouse being in Boston, it’s a disgrace to fans that they didn’t match.
His spouse is only in Boston for another couple of months, then going to Nashville. So no advantage there. And Boston should not have given him what amounts to a one-year deal with no ability to get a pick back with a QO.
His wife will finish her dermatology residency in late 2024 or early 2025 and won’t be working there after that.
Thanks for clarifying. I thought residency meant longer.
Just learned that. Thanks.
WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!! A team out of nowhere as I predicted. A team none of Boras’ hired reporters ever mentioned even once. And it’s a 1 year deal!!! HAHAHHAHAHA Monty & Boras should be embarrassed and ashamed. What happened to all the reports of multiple year deals on the table ? 2 teams with major long term offers?!! I SAID HE’D SIGN WITH A RANDOM TEAM FOR 1-2 YEARS OUT OF NOWHERE. I HATE BORAS AND MONEY MONTY GOT EHAT HE DESERVES. NOW WHEN HE HAS ANOTHER OF HIS AVERAGE /BELOW AVERAGE SEASONS HIS CONTRACT FOING FORWARD WILL BE LAUGHABLE. HAHAHHAHAH THESE REPORTERS CAN ALL SUCK BORAS’ PRIVATE JET HAHAHHAHAHHAA
Boston, LAA, the A’s…let’s start wish list of owners who need to go away.
Add Cleveland, the Dolans gotta go
Cry me a river, Boston fans. Four World Series in 20 years and the fans should want new ownership for not signing one pitcher who may or may not be overpriced in a transition season in which the team was not going to contend anyway? And that pitcher had, at best, average Fenway splits. .
He’s not a QO recipient. He was traded last season so he was ineligible to receive one.
Why should it matter that they can’t give him a QO? He currently isn’t attached to a pick because he was traded at the deadline so they wouldn’t of had to surrendered a pick to sign him. Why should it matter that they can’t get a pick for him if they aren’t giving up one in the first place?
But Angels and As fans dont cry and moan every chance they get.
Montgomery is a one year wonder that is way too much a contact pitcher. Would have been lit up at Fenway.
Are the Angels going to win this year? What’s the point of a one year contract?
If he’s good, the Angels will get another bite at the Apple next year. If he’s bad, the Angels saved 5o million dollars.
And Arte will sell the team. Why would he burden the next owner with such a contract?
So, a one year deal in Boston would have made great sense.
178 yelling about being right when a week ago he called Monty “a flash in the pants”. Wow Dog !
“So, a one year deal in Boston would have made great sense.”
For Red Sox yes. But, thats not how FA works, the player gets to pick where he’s signing, not the team. For many reasons, Arizona is a much better place to pitch, if looking to reenter FA next year (competition, park, playoff chances, atmosphere). So your theory makes no sense, not great sense.
AP…I don’t have a theory, just a simple question. I understand that the player gets to decide where they sign based upon the offers received.
Reports throughout the winter and spring linked Boston’s need and interested in adding SP with Montgomery’s interest in pitching closer to his wife while she finished professional school. In the end, a one-year deal seemed to be a reasonable fit. That is the basis for my question. Not a theory, just a question. Perhaps the simple answer is that both reports (team and player interests) were inaccurate?
norcal:
Its a case of pros/cons. Clearly Monty is looking to reenter FA next year in search of a longer, more secure contract.
Pros:
-Wife in Boston
Cons:
– AL East and AL in general has tougher hitters.
– Fenway Park is tough on LH pitchers.
– Arizona has a much better chance at the playoffs.
– Weather in Boston is terrible especially this year, and Im sure his wife has told him that.
– More exposure playing on a WS team in the same division as LA.
– Fans are running around with pitchforks and torches at Fenway, not a place where you want to start out slow.
– Traffic, housing, and open space are all better in Arizona.
– Last but certainly not least, Boras and Red Sox ownership have a contentious relationship ever since Dice-K and JD Drew. Boras is certainly not going to do them any favors. Just look at the history of FAs signing in Boston, it is rare that Boras players come to Boston.
————
People can pick apart one or two of my points, but overall, Arizona is probably one of the best places in all of baseball to have a One and Done Year to establish value. And, at that low price, Monty could have picked almost anywhere to play.
Thanks. Good insights. Appreciate the response
You too!
Your delusion is noted.
It says something about her character that her husband makes $25M per year but yet she is moving forward in her career as a doctor. Good woman right there! Too bad they won’t be together for the season.
You can add pitcher’s parks for most teams in the NL West to your list.
Where his wife was working or going to school had little bearing on his choice though. We’ve seen this time and time again where people talk about where players grew up or where their wives work, or where they currently have a house. None of it matters much.
What matters is the contract value and years. Nearly all players choose that over their hometown.
Chase Anderson had one of the best debuts of all time. If you don’t believe me look it up.
Boras and Monty laid an egg just in time for Easter.
For Real
Wow. Many teams would like to have made this deal early in off-season if only it were possible. Seems absurd really. I truly feel there is a pushback from owners/GMs about how these players are handling free agency. I can think of no other reason why, with so many teams still needing pitching, he is getting a one year deal, option or not. Only other reason would be he determined he was just gonna go for one highly paid season and picked a team he thinks is gonna go places, hoping to handle his 2024 off-season better than 2025. He’s not worth 30m a year to me but one year? Diamondbacks are going places. If Charlie Morton gets 20m for a year at 40 this is about the market value Monty deserves.
Thing is I really like next year’s pitching class. He isn’t even gonna be the top lefty available (assuming he declines option) let alone one of the 2-3 top pitchers. Couple that with the fact he’s had no spring training and so may underperform or get hurt (always possible anyway), and this could be a big failure for him.
How long before the “Boras Five” look for a new agent?
I know mlb is trying to have a limited FA period and players of course fighting it, but there should at least be a signing deadline like the start of ST. These late signings are silly.
@Rishi: Actually, I don’t think owners and GMs mind paying free agents less than their value in the least.
I would think, especially after recent injuries, there would be more interest in some of these recently signed players. The lack of interest seems reflected in the fact that even tho it’s a one year deal it is still no more than market value. I believe some teams are refusing to sign people like Jordan (at least beyond a one year market value deal at the most) because they are tired of being dragged through the uncertainty of late free agency (missing out on players while waiting out others and ending up with nothing).If teams were to pay up for these players it sends the message that waiting forever works fine and even would incentivize doing so, in order to wait for injuries. Even a 60m deal over 3 years would incentivize waiting the market out if you aren’t getting what you desire. Instead he got a one year guarantee at market value. If it were all about getting a cheap deal more teams would have offered a better one because it’s still an overall discount.
@Rishi: Why would that bother owners and GMs?
Or collectively fikeva collusion claims. This deal really smells of it in my view. Laugh as you may but when it previously happened, no one talked about it at the time.
Fikeva?
I don’t think anybody here understands, “market value”, or bidding.
For example: the top bidder for a SS bids $x. No one else wanted to pay that much. That doesn’t mean the next SS of same quality will get a matching offer. Remember….no one else was willing to pay that much. They can ask…but I think owners have stopped being led around by the nose with narratives promoted by the agents. Also remember, most of the FO guys are no longer baseball people but Ivy Leaguers talking to and spending someone else’s money. They have been taking the agents side, are admired by less educated owners are personable, persuasive and most…had pretty easy lifestyle – unlike the baseball guys of 20-30 years ago.
Go to a store look at a top dollar item like smoked salmon. Rarely sells out. Look at the expiration date. Go back that day. It will be discounted. I don’t pay $15. I pay $7.50. Same thing when a product arrives in bulk. They put it on sale, break even on their entire cost, then raise the price, now it is all profit from there.
I am.totally appalled that Americans would think top bid is the market price for everyone. Obviously, the second highest bid is what you should expect.
That because the market has changed once the top bidder has been eliminated.
The only thing I ever said bothered owners and GMs was free agents taking forever to sign. That would bother them because 1.its a waste of their time and energy and 2. Because it effects their negotiations with other free agents potentially. Nobody knows you’re gonna wait forever until you do. So negotiating in November may lead a team to believe they could sign you and in the meantime other potential targets are gonna sign elsewhere. I don’t see what isn’t clear about what I’m saying or how that wouldn’t bother GMs. As the poster above me said the owners would like a deadline.
@Bart: Huh? English is spoken here.
@Rishi: Why is it any worse for players to take their time to sign than for teams to take their time to make offers?
Name one Team for us, who is not already over the Tax Threshold, that does not have internal options. & should have signed him for $25M for 2024. Teams over the Tax Bracket, that price goes even higher, Yankees would have had to pay over $50M to have him on their team for 2024, he ain’t worth that much.
Two main factors this year, Teams at or over the Tax threshold and Broadcasting Rights/Income.
When looking at the Broadcasting, there was lost income & early on no guarantee of any payment. Now, there is still no idea if there will be any income for owners after this season. And what if they go Bankrupt in the middle of this season?
And I believe that would be “lesser educated owners”? Maybe, I should buy a team?
@Blue,
You asked about ‘Fikeva?’. I googled it, and the results are shown above. Apologies if you don’t like the answer to your question.
Typo.
Say what you want. Look how the free agency started with ast. Louis jumping the market. Individually, a team can come up with reasons but collectively, this looks looks bad, especially Montgomery and JDM in my view.
He was a free agent. This is what he’s worth on the market. There was no demand at the length and price he was originally asking for. This is his value, not less than his value.
@Bart: I don’t necessarily dislike it. I just don’t get why you didn’t translate it to English for the benefit of those of us who don’t speak your language.
@dewey: Who was ast. Louis?
I thought it was posted Montgomery had a couple of long term offers but now settles for a one year deal?
@Manny That one gave me a chuckle. Bravo
Hey Manny, going to piggyback off Waymann here.
Had a terrible day @work. Downsizing / store closures are on the rise and mine is borderline…. Your post gave me my first belly laugh of the day!
Mahalo!
Sorry about your day. Businesses are still struggling to find good people so keep your spirits up and your eyes open for opportunities.
25 million for a 500 pitcher with 35 career wins isn’t chump change dudley. Plus this 10 win pitcher makes 10 starts BOOM another 20 million for his trouble. Not to shabby for a 31 year old number 4 or 5.
Did you forgot we are in 2024 and not 1993?
Wins? Seriously? Go on back to the 1950’s, because no one pays any attention to wins anymore because we know it has no value in determining a pitcher’s performance.
10 wins are 10 wins. 500 is 500. The only thing that has changed is the definition of of liberal and conservative. You are dismissed.
No one pays attention to wins anymore? Surfing through the web is for losers. And winning is why they play the game knucklehead. You are definitely dismissed.
BORE ASS!
The Boring 4 are finally all signed.
And the answer is: The Mystery Team again! Well done
And a rotten egg at that.
Dude got 25 Million dollars to play baseball.
Never was going to sign there
Who knows whether Boston made a competitive offer or not, and Montgomery just preferred AZ.
Boston was only ‘interested’ which means ‘We aren’t doing anything but jacking ticket prices and giving the middle finger to the fans.’
I thought there were “multiple teams” waiting to him a long term contract. Lol
You’re not crazy, that was posted. Guess is that he’ll take his 25$ and bolt, but if TJ rears his ugly head…then he has a fallback.
Aggee – Cue the Boras suckups! Hahaha!
“It’s not Boras’s fault, the whole market is down”
“Monty got a great contract”
“Boras told him to take bigger contracts months ago, Monty ignored him”
“Monty sucks, Boras did the best he could”
What a humiliating end to the offseason for Boras!
I have to disagree with you Fever Guy. Boras didn’t lose at all. Only the players did.
“Only the players did”…Not true. Boras works and gets paid a percentage of what his clients get(called commissions)and if they get less, so does he.
Every one of those players got a substantial raise and goes into the 2024-2025 offseason as a FA with the basis for negotiations starting at what they will make in 2024, which is substantially higher than they were at before.
NEITHER Boras nor the players lost.
How stupid do you have to be to think guys that got between a 44% raise and a 150% raise LOST?
Chapman 44% going from $12.5 million to $18 million.
Bellinger 71.4% going from $17.5 million to $30 million.
Snell 94% going from $16.6 million to $32 million.
Montgomery 150% going from $10 million to $25 million.
Your base doesn’t start at what you were paid the previous year for free agents. I don’t know why you keep spewing this nonsense on multiple accounts.
mlb – Thank you! Besides the lost commission, he also will no doubt lose future business as his reputation has taken a major hit this offseason.
FA salaries go UP from what you were paid the previous season.
Pay attention.
Fever Pitch Guy: I doubt Boras is going to lose any sleep. He could retire and never rep another player, and still have more than enough money for life.
So far 3 of the 4 guys have praised Boras for the deal he got them. The other one is not official yet, but I am willing to bet he says the same thing.
What’s it to you if someone disagrees with you?
Its in their contract with him. “Must read from card at press conference.”
Blue – I agree with you about money, but I can assure you when a man goes to bed realizing he is no longer at the top of the mountain it usually leads to a restless night’s sleep. Especially at his age.
He worth a half billion dollars and his company represents more MLB players than any other agency. And you think he’s losing sleep?? That is absolutely laughable
Tigers – The only thing that’s laughable is you believing rich people don’t care about future income because they already have a lot of money. Rich people are always driven to make as much money as possible, it’s one reason why they became rich in the first place.
John Henry is a billionaire, if any of his franchises experience a drop in revenue he loses sleep over it.
Whatever your bet might be, Ippei&Shohei Sportsbook wants to double up your bet.
There’s a thing called EGO
Boras is so far up the mountain from anyone else that he could lose a dozen clients and still be at the peak looking down at everyone else.
Most of these maroons spend their sad, wretched, pathetic lives sticking pins in little Scott Boras dolls. Ahahaha!
NYC – I agree, his clients are probably doing that right now.
Can you imagine paying big bucks to someone who causes you to lose over $100M ….. if I were Monty, I’d fire Boras the minute the contract is dry.
I’m afraid you’ve misjudged me Fever, I’m referring to the people on this site not his clients. Ahahaha!
Boras keeps taking Ls
It’s probably a matter of getting signed before opening day then having an extended spring training. As far as we know he hasn’t faced any live BP since the world series.
He won’t contribute until May at the earliest.
Log – Boras claiming his free agent facilities are just as beneficial as a team’s spring training is a flat-out lie, just like his “multiple longterm contracts” BS. He is a lawyer and a salesman, of course everything he says is a lie.
Hrs definitely a shark and he knows how to get things done.
In my opinion, in the end, Belli and Chapman got pretty close to what they deserve.
But Boras played the cards poorly for Snell and Monty, to be sure.
Right on el money….Definitely a sub .500 agency this stove season, will get top places to pick on the draft.
Wow! Boras has lost his magic.
Agreed. Wondering what his client list looks like next offseason.
Chris Flexen, Dakota Hudson, Jose Urena, Paul DeJong, and Jesse Winker
One year 25mm? Cmon Dombo you could have done that
Dombo always over pays. It would have been one year $35 million. (Since he could not throw in an extra prospect as Monty was a free agent). Lol
Ewww……
I like Ranger Danger over Montgomery. And 25 for a 4th starter is insanity. I’m not calling Montgomery a 4th starter, but on the Phils he would be.
It’s simple really. I’d take Sanchez and likely well more payroll flexibility over Monty.
If your 4th starter pitches to the level of a mid range number 2/ high end 3 then who cares if he pitches 4th in your rotation? Doesn’t that make the team better overall?
Depends on the team and where they’re at. Phillies have a ton of money invested already. I really don’t think they need to invest 25M on a 4th starter. Monty’s an upgrade over Walker and Sanchez, but they also want Sanchez to pitch and develop. Not to mention Abel’s waiting in the wings.
As DarkSide mentioned, payroll flexibility is key here. A slight downgrade in a starter who costs nothing could help the Phillies acquire another piece at the deadline should they need it.
Also Abel looks to be up soon. No need to further block him.
Ranger Suarez has looked awesome in Spring Training. This could be his year to win 14 games. But if you could have Ranger or Monty for the next four years at the exact same cost, bold statement to say that you would pick Ranger. I would pick Monty, but view the difference as smaller than most.
But Ranger is and will continue to be significantly cheaper. No where close to the exact same cost. I’d take Ranger.
VonPurple
Of course, taking into account their salaries, then I agree with you 100%
Recently saw a graphic that Monty would indeed be the 4th starter for the D’Backs.
Now to be clear, I love the move for the DBacks because they aren’t spening as much as the Phillies. They still have plenty of financial flexibility. So, overpaying 1-year for a 4th starter isn’t that bad in their case. For the Phillies, this would have put them up against another luxury tax penalty tier, and I don’t think improving your 4th starter is worth that.
I’m flattered but you’re going to need Stevie Wonder calling balls and strikes for this to work out.
NL West arms race
ilooks to me like the injury to ERod is worse than the D’backs are letting on. no reason to pony up $25M for a 1 year rental.
No reason? Being able to pay a slight premium to avoid a long-term deal makes a lot of sense regardless of any injury to another arm. Especially because he doesn’t cost a draft pick and can be given the qualifying offer in November.
He can’t be given the qualifying offer because he will debut on the roster after opening day.
He cannot be given a QO this year…
Far fall from the huge numbers him and Boras wanted, wish players would wise up and ditch Boras. Clown
@Rocker49: Why do you care who players select as their agents?
Rocker
LOL
You think you know more about how good of an agent Boras is than the players.
Arrogance=ignorance
I agree that Boras miscalculated on Snell and Monty. But the overall track record for Boras is very good. I doubt that he will lose much — if any — business.
Perennial spenders were out of the equation this year. The Phillies focused on extensions. The Mets are retooling. The Padres needed to take a step back. The Dodgers spent a ton elsewhere. A lot of it is luck and circumstance.
So much for the multiple multi-year offers ♂️
For once MLB.com had the story before MLBTR.
I get an alert on almost every story from them before an article is posted here.
I usually get MLB.com notifications about 15 minutes after MLBTR’s posted a story. It’s partly why I became a regular user of MLBTR many, many years ago.
Did Montgomery not want to be a Yankee that bad?
The way they treated him? Probably…
I mean I can’t blame him.
Cashman didn’t want to spend at least $52.5MM on him this season.
Insert burned bridge meme graphic here.
Cashman with his poor judgement He didn’t really know the player he had – his heart, his big game potential.
Joe Torre was correct the game has an irreplaceable intangible a Heartbeat
Shall we call this a Lesson Learned?
One of many great songs by
Mr. Ray Lamontagne
Absolutely agree that’s a tough bridge to cross again, but also I do think that Cashman still didn’t care enough for him now to spend the money.
I was kind of hoping the Yankee$ would sign him. Seemed like every time I saw him pitch for them he was giving up a ton of runs. Kind of like back when they thought Sidney Ponson was going to help them and he just gave up Homers.
DBACKS!!!
Nice! I wanted the Snakes to grab Montgomery all offseason. Dodger fans are going to be upset seeing Arizona on top of the division.
Like how Dback fans are already crying before the season officially begins?
The season officially began last week. Dodgers nothing but a .500 team
John, you don’t SOUND like a Dodgers fan, but I’m randomly wondering whether or not you ARE a Dodgers fan. It’s really tough to tell.
Dodgers fan here and happy for AZ!
Let’s goooooo! Great pick up and NL WEST looking good! (Besides Rocks) lol
NL west gonna be a battle royal
Another Boras L…
Joining the losers of the World Series after being a part of the winning team of the World Series. It feels like destiny somehow.
Aww the Johnny Keane feeling!
NL West is tough. I don’t think it’s ever been this competitive. Good luck, Colorado.
Rockies gonna need a lot more than luck.
Just think being a Colorado! The team flag will just be white this year. Quickest to 100 losses?
Maybe the quickest to 120…
The first team in all sports to get to 120 losses in 118 games….
@rodcarew: What’s a Colorado? LOL.
And San Diego.
I think the Pads could contend and sneak in the WC. They were better than their record last year, but losing Soto and Snell hurts.
4th place. Struggle to get to 80 wins. This years team is not as good as last years by a long shot.
I agree with your last sentence, but I think they finish with a higher record than last year. Baseball is a weird game.
Rockies are laser focused on college and high school scouting this year.
Interesting.
Yay!! D”B=backs. now find a closer!
To find a closer just look into their bullpen. Ginkel will fill the role just fine.
BIG GINK!
E-Rod gonna be out for a while?
That was my first thought, too
That’s a strong rotation to go with a talented young team.
That was the last of the contending teams that I would have guessed.
More like ….. Boar’s ass
I would expect a lot of teams would be interested in that deal. Surprised it was Arizona.
red sox had every opportunity to sign him and they didn’t. i am so done with this.
For that deal, absolutely inexcusable
What a consolation. Was he looking for 8 years/$300M or something? I thought he was seeking 5 years/$125M with an outside hope of like 7 years/$224M or something like that?
6 years/$174M seemed completely do-able. How was there no market?
Was widely reported that he wanted Nola money-plus, and couldn’t find it.
7 years is too long, which is what he was looking for. I think if he wanted a 5 year deal for similar AAV he could have got it. Maybe adding in options that vest based on IP.
The question is, if he has a stellar season with the Dbacks, will he again look for like 6 years/$195M or try to get the Dbacks to extend him by making that second year guaranteed and tacking on 4 years/$130M?
Jack, when it was posted he was seeking that Nola+ money, I checked his b-ball ref page a couple times sober and well, not sober just to make sure my insanity still doesn’t involve MLB….
Have you seen his body of work? Ahahaha!
Collusion for non-Asian players. It’s all about the Asian markets.
No chance he was getting 6/174, and not sure why he thought he should.
Geez Louise. what a wild off season!
Did anyone have Arizona in the free agent contest?
As a Phillies lifer, I gave it a “oh no” thought….
Should’ve been the reds…
What the heck?
I mean, I get that he won’t get a full salary for 2024 since it’s already late in ST, but why would a 3+ WAR pitcher who has excelled in the postseason get a 25 + 25 vest, rather than a player’s option of 25 + 25 in case he gets hurt? Why would you want to lock down the lower range of possible 2025 salaries?
And why weren’t a dozen other teams in on this driving the price and years up?
What’s that smell?
Ah…. Collusion… by Manfred.
Collusion in a year with two record breaking contracts signed?
By the same team.
AND all the weird TV contract stuff…..
“With two record breaking”..When it’s essentially one agent that got his clients burned and hosed, that’s not called “collusion”, that’s called overplaying your hand aka “stupidity”.
Collusion towards Boras clients. ABSOLUTELY.
“Collusion towards Boras”…If a case is filed and it becomes a legal battle, we’ll hear about the offers Belli, Monty, Snell and Chapman declined. That will most likely prove rather embarrassing to both Boras and his naive clients.
Dumbest of takes. Snell was offered $150 million by the Yankees, it was borass who recommended rejecting it.
Cards – Three, Hader.
Now the rockies need to pick up an ace and the NL WEST fortification is complete.
I feel that you’re heavily underestimating Dakota Hudson.
This is impossible to do.
I think this legitimately qualifies as a “WOW”.
Sox and Angels sitting on their hands. Wow.
I think Moreno is trying to get Trout to request a trade
Trout to PHI coming in like Rocky Balboa to bring a WS trophy home.
If they’re not competitive this year, he’ll be gone next season
Baiting a Trout is hard work.
Cubs badly needed another starter especially with a postseason pedigree like Monty.
I’m betting many teams would have been in at this level. Montgomery probably chose the DBacks.
I get a sense location was a big choice in his decision plus playing for a serious playoff team
Cubs are at the tax limit now. When they resigned Bellinger that was it. Boras will have cost JM 100 million if he ends up injured this year. I fully believe he could have gotten 6-150. He got screwed from both ends Boras and Diamond. Boras knew there was revenue issues and should have pushed a deal early.
Really surprised he took a 1 year with an option. I guess he could be traded mid season which would save him from the qualifying offer. Wish the Yankees never traded him for Bader.
And then on top of it Cashman opened his big mouth about him in the press after trading him to STL
Definitely affected negotiations this winter
Very short term deal. Surprising. I guess he turned down those 2 long term deals. AZ with him has a much better chance of getting into the playoffs and possibly back to the World Series.
If I was a BOS, BAL fan and a few others like PHI I would be disappointed. IF he was OK with major $ referral other teams like NYM probably would have had a better chance. I believe he had bad feelings about NYY.
Good for AZ to have to compete in the NL West
You kidding? Everyone in the AL East is thrilled except the Yankees, who now have a full rotation of guys who will throw 80 innings each.
If the Orioles weren’t cruising before, they sure are now.
Eduardo Rodriguez’s contract is soooooo bad but at least they got Monty too
And yet Sox fans were crying that we didn’t sign E-Rod
And he’s already injured, right on schedule.
My point is we didn’t get roped into another “big” contract. People hated on Bloom, but at least he didn’t tie up the money. His mistakes were short term for the most part.
Trevor Story is the reason Henry doesn’t allow longterm free agent contracts anymore.
I think it’s more Pablo Sandoval and Roasney Castillo
So it’s like a two year deal…like
Where do you get that it’s $50 million for one year?
Another Boras Blunder aside, the NL West is going to be a very fun division to watch this season.
Damn that’s it? lol
Good for Arizona.
The snakes continue to raise eyebrows
I’m very surprised he didn’t want until the start of the season; great move for the D-Backs
The writers on here have been wrong about everything this year
And won’t admit it!
It turns out per the follow up since he’s going to ramp up in the minors and won’t start the season with the MLB club, he’s not eligible for the QO.
I guess he doesn’t want to be near his wife after all…. I can’t believe people on here actually believed that would be a factor. lmao
It probably was a factor, just not the defining one. I’d say money is the defining factor 90% of the time
Fine, it could be a factor, albeit a minor one. His wife is doing a medical residency, he would barely see her even if he lived in Boston. Maybe it was .5% a factor. I’d say money is a factor 99% of the time.
A for Arizona. Not a amazing bargain but the 1 year makes it good value. Love they are all in. Vesting much better than standard player option.
D Backs bay bay World Series bound
Hopefully he can hold back on showing off the ring in the clubhouse
A lot of good pitchers in the NL West sheesh
The NL West is going to kick ass this season. I pity the fool!
It’s amazing how glibly people toss around figures like 100 million.
This guy is getting $25 million for less than a full season. He may get 20 starts this year.
25 Million for THAT?
Maybe what’s happening is executives are waking up to realize that the kids are a better place to put their money.
Market conditions and several major teams not participating. Snell could have had a 6/150 but turned it down. Quite likely Montgomery could have had a $100M deal earlier in the offseason. Played hardball as did the owners.
Executives “waking up” won’t make them pay younger players more. If anything, contracts that buy out arbitration years are designed to reward players up front but save the clubs money long term ( and delay FA). A 2023 season repeat from Montgomery is a steal at this price, admittedly. I’m not surprised he expected $100 million, but he always looked more like Erod’s type contact at best.
They’re not gonna pay the younger kids more, they don’t have to. You draft a guy and you’ve got him for six years. Play him for four or five years, trade him to some idiot for his last year or two before free agency, and start all over again with the kids you get from the trade.
That’s what the Rays do, and they always have a good team, and cheap, too.
Executives will wake up and realize that signing a 30-year-old guy, who’s got maybe one or two reasonable years remaining, to a ten-year contract is stupid.
“…executives are waking up to realize that the kids are a better place to put their money.
The Dodgers will be paying Ohtani a pile of money when he’s 38. Same with the NYYs and Judge when he’s 39. There’s plenty others. That’s not passing on older guys to invest in kids. It isn’t teams thinking kids are a better investment, it’s more teams not wanting to sign pitchers, with their injury risk, to long term deals.
What’s happening is market conditions drive free agency dollars, sometimes higher, sometimes lower, sometimes flat. This year’s market will have little to do with next year’s market.
Confusing
GL Monty!
That’s a steal. Baltimore should have been able to beat that.
I understand why the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets may not have opted to pay the price this year, but I have no idea why the Orioles didn’t. Nothing against the D’backs, but I strongly suspect Montgomery would have preferred an east coast team due to where his wife is based.
There ya go, that’s a team that needed him. The national nightmare is finally over.
Good signing. Def like the vesting particulars.
I’m surprised that Boras agreed to that over the “long-term deals” which “multiple teams” offered.
Some MLB
so called experts were saying that the DBacks could sign Montgomery before the season started. I guess they knew something after all.
I think since the season started he can’t get QOd
I think he can get hit with a QO. The season is team specific. It’s started for LA and SD, but not for AZ and the rest of the teams.
This is in the article above:
“Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the delayed start to the southpaw’s season comes with what could prove to be a significant financial benefit. Because Montgomery, who has agreed to start the 2024 season in the minor leagues in order to ramp up for the season, won’t start the season as a part of Arizona’s Opening Day roster, Piecoro indicates that the left-hander will be rendered ineligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Diamondbacks should he return to free agency this winter.”
That portion wasn’t there when I first posted. It was a one paragraph blurb, but I figured he had some angle to not get QOed. Thanks for the update.
The reason he won’t be eligible for QO is because he won’t be on the active roster at the start of the Dbacks season it’ll be three or four weeks before they add him to the roster.
That’s already been pointed out a time or 12.
Thanks, Captain Obvious!
Will he sign on the 2nd day of the season calendar so he can’t be offered a Qualifying Offer ?
I expect that the contract won’t be official until OD. He’ll be a non-roster invitee until then is my guess.
Possibly wait to take the physical maybe.
Games in Korea might officially qualify as season starts. Not sure. I’m sure there is language in the CBA
Still March 28th as official OD.
“Will he sign on the second day”…Unless he has a specific agreement with Arizona about the QO, I’m guessing the contract will not be signed or become official until at least the 2nd day of the season so Monty cannot be given a qualifying offer by the Dbacks.
Between Snell, Bellinger and Montgomery, Boras managed to get his guys about $500 million less than they were asking for. A true super agent!
lol!
Montgomery & snell need to fire boras immediately
This was the first person I thought of when I heard E-Rod was hurt. I didn’t think they would but at that price? I do wonder what the vest is. 180 innings? 160?
Rumors about Bos, NNY or Philly are probably just that rumors.
Not sure this puts Diamondbacks in contention or not, but I do think it makes them better
They were already in contention for the playoffs. This makes them stronger when in the postseason.
They had a negative run differential last year. They got lucky to beat the teams they beat.
15 runs is not all that much. They dominated within their division, and a few young players took steps forward towards the end of the year/playoffs. Either way, adding a #3 to their rotation does make them better.
I think the Giants are going to be better this year and the Dodgers aren’t letting up, whether Yamamoto figures it out or not.
15 runs isn’t a lot, but when three other teams get even better (Padres, Dodgers, Giants), it feels monumental. I think DBacks did get better but not much better. I still say 4th place for them
Eugenio Suarez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Joc Pederson, and Montgomery make them better. Very difficult division, but I see them running side by side with the Giants and Padres.
Boras’ sun is setting. Quite the beautiful sight.
Nope.
It goes up and down. If I remember, he’s had good years and bad ones.
He’s never come close to any off season this bad. It’s too many laughable contracts to count.
that’s all it took to sign him? way to drop the ball Texas. you should’ve resigned him. now you’re going to end up trading for him at the trade deadline
He’ll be opting at, as will Bellinger and Snell. (Not convinced Chapman will.) Add in Soto and Alonso, and Boras will be back at it again next offseason. They’ll all be paid.
And that is what you were sayjng about 6 months ago about the “Boras 4”.
Only time will tell.
What did I say? What are you saying?
“Boras will be back at it again next off season. They’ll all be paid.”
What will be so different next year from this past year?
Snell and Belli won’t likely have better years than 2023.
Soto – will he get 500 mil? How many teams lining up to write that check for competition?
Chapman –
Another year older.
The more players there are the harder it is to get them paid. Snell and Montgomery where both front of the rotation lefties, so teams can just wait them out until one of them accepts reality and takes a lower deal. Guarantee that is what San Francisco did.
Definitely part of it. More players and less teams opening up the bank combined. Now, if those guys all opt out and none of top guys for next year extend, it could be even worse for them as a bigger group next year.
There may be a few more tax reset teams after 2024 and while there may be 1 or 2 that reset in 24 come out spending, there could be 2x as many FAs to pick from.
I think hot stove watchers may go crazy next year waiting for action.
Jumping to conclusions as only Soto and Alonso will be paid as the other 2 will be another year older and staring at another 1 yr opt out deal or staying put if they get injured. Boras failed badly this winter that imo warrants all 4 players to fire him!
A lot depends on what kind of season each of these guys have. But, in general, the position players have a better chance of landing a big deal than the pitchers do. Chances are Soto and Alonso will get a big long-term deal. Bellinger, maybe if he shows 2023 wasn’t a fluke. Snell and Montgomery probably won’t do any better next offseason than they did in this past one.
Is the season already considered started after the games in South Korea so that players signed now can’t get a QO?
I don’t think so… I think his season starts Thursday for QO, I think that was said on MLB Radio last week…but he may not “officially “ sign until Friday so that may be the work around for the QO
and nevermind, he’s starting the season in AAA… so QO question is mute… at least we know now
No surprise. The writers have been wrong all offseason
Everyone has been wrong including Boras, his clients, and some middle-tier free agents.
Pete Alonso watching all these fellow Boras clients not getting the deals they want as he prepares to be a free agent next winter
🙁
Those Boras clients all got HUGE raises and start next offseason with the bottom of what they will sign for in FA up substantially from what it was expected to be this offseason.
Chapman 44% raise going from $12.5 million to $18 million.
Bellinger 71.4% going from $17.5 million to $30 million.
Snell 94% going from $16.6 million to $32 million.
Montgomery 150% going from $10 million to $25 million.
Nice spin. Still doesn’t change that his wait to sign strategy got them less than expected.
hey, Boras…..
Yer Mama!…
Ummm What? So Giolito got more than Monty lol
Bora$$ may have lost his touch a bit, but Monty, Snell, and Chapman had negatives in some of their numbers to give teams pause. The biggest was age. All 31 yo. Analytics tells us that players start their decline at 33 normally. So 8 years and big $$ are great at 28 when the team will have 5 prime years. Willing to pay a bit for the decline just to get those prime years. But at 31? Not so much. This is why MLBPA has been pushing to get young guys called up earlier and pushing back on service time manipulation. Those things delay a players entry into free agency and hamper them in getting the big long term contract. The best will always get paid. In the past few years we’ve seen mid and lower tier have trouble finding jobs. Now it is creeping into that next level free agent. The ones that are not at the top but just below. Expect similar things in future years.
The other issue is the CBT penalties are tamping down salaries. Yankees could have really used Monty but with the tax penalty for them at 110% they were not going to pay $52.5M for him this year.
Monty’s wife new a guy who bought her a beer in Boston.Trying to find little clues is stupid.If you pay a guy enough money and he thinks you can win,the guy looks at that team.He has played for many teams and i assume his wife lived in many places.Why wouldn’t that give that team an edge.
I hope he repeats the year he just had, but for the Diamondbacks. It’s good to see them spending. The NL West will be super competitive.
The opt-out is almost guaranteed to be exercised; I saw a post from Travis Sawchik saying that Montgomery is stretched out to about 75 pitches, so I highly doubt it takes until May for him to be in the rotation.
Maybe they get him some turns in extended ST and maybe they run him out for the first series against the Rox (which probably isn’t too far off competitively from extended ST lol)
And there seems to be confusion about QO eligibility. A player isn’t eligible to be extended a QO if they are traded at any point of the season (when they sign as a FA has no bearing on that). If you wanted to sign a QO FA, you’d have to wait until the draft had passed to avoid giving up a pick.
Hope that clears it up.
mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/why-jordan-montgomery-m…
And it appears the deal won’t be official until after the season starts, even if it’s by minutes.
Well, I’ll be! Thank you for the receipts, and that’ll just stay up there as a reminder of how wrong I was lol
I guess that situation comes up so infrequently that I was basing it the “one team” semantics
Definitely saw the Sawchik post, though
Lol. We’ve all been there. It changed in the new CBA. Sawchik is solid! Been reading him for a long time.
I wish him Monty well, but hoping that he still ends up back with the Rangers next year.
Good sign for AZ. They have a really good rotation.
This move should help the Diamondbacks solidify 4th place in the division
Their rotation is on par with the current Dodgers staff, probably better, and lineup is more deep than everyone else other than LA. A lot of competition but their team looks pretty damn good.
What? Lol, this had more to do with E-Rod being out with a lat strain and Sewald going down with a grade 2 oblique strain
Montgomery fortifies the rotation and reduces the load on the bullpen; it’s even better that the deal costs “only money”
NL West is BONKERS! I love SD, Arizona, and SF refusing to go quietly into that goodnight.
At the poker table – I’ll see your Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow and raise you a . . .
James Bond in the casino – calm cool and collected
Stirred AND shaken, them bums!
Perfect ending to this year.
Low budget team defeats Large budget team.
World Series Champion is MIL, CIN, CLE, PIT, KC
Although TB would be less surprising.
I’ll take the field on that.
Well, I’m not happy my Yankees didn’t get him….but I am happy that Boras is getting his ass handed to him this off-season.
Maybe he’ll put the crack pile down next year because if he didn’t have these guys hold out for stupid money thinking he held all the cards….his clients could have done MUCH better!
Owners across the board aren’t going to play Boras’ games anymore. It’s only ended badly for teams that give in. I can’t remember a big Boras contract that everyone ended up feeling was worth it.
Why does the Boras opt out crew think things will be magically different next year and they’ll be able to secure huge long term deals? I don’t get it.
Me either, Big money got handed out last off season because the CBT numbers adjusted upward plus Cohen & Seidler were spending. That was all clearly over this off season and Boras totally missed it.
Because history shows each free agency market is different, driven by the talent pool and team needs. When high-revenue teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and Red Sox are all on the sidelines, that is going to suppress dollars. Add in the Diamond RSN fiasco, and you have conditions that are unique to the 2023/24 free-agent market. We don’t know what next year’s market will bring. The players and agents may also react differently.
To that point, the local broadcast rights situation could be even more dire next year with half of the league’s RSN deals shuttering.
@straight, yes. That’s basically my point when people ask why next year’s market will be any different. Every new free agency market is different. It could be better, or the RSN situation could make it much worse. The best time to be a free agent is right after a new CBA is signed. Teams have certainty and are willing to spend. If I was a ballplayer, I’d try to arrange my free agent season was timed to a new CBA.
Dodgers were on the sidelines??? I read they spent over a trillion dollars this off season? Must be fake news…
Boras knew of the RSN issues last year just like everyone else. Ask for a reasonable number and get your guy paid. Snell just won a Cy Young award for god’s sake. Nothing more a player can do in a contract year and Boras totally screws the pooch.
@gg, yes absolutely they were on the sideline for the Boras 4 They were focused on Ohtani and Yamamoto, and they got their two men up front, then traded for Glasnow. That took them out of the rest of the bigger market, so for the Boras 4 the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and Red Sox were all not playing. There’s nothing I can say if you don’t believe that has an impact on the dollar dynamics,
And with the uncertainty of the RSN’s income in 2025 and beyond, Team Owners did not want to commit to Long Term Contracts, when they are unsure of these long term incomes to help cover the players contracts.
And the Dodgers are spending big money next year?
These guys are beyond rich already so basically they are gambling and bet on themselves even if its for high avv salary year to year as opposed to accepting what they perceive is below market long term contract. If they never play another game they are set for life. What baffles me a smart person would take the lower avv and secure a long term deal for security and stability from having to move family every year or so. Monty would have been wise to accept even a 6/120 deal over 2/50 cause another elbow injury will cost him $70 million. These players are dumb greedy f—cks!
Giants are going to finish 4th. After the first 10 games they may very well be looking up the rest of the way.
He didn’t even do what the dodgers did this offseason.
Check back to after 10 games we shall revisit this.
Oof. Boras neutralized
Anticlimactic AF
Get ready to give up the long ball!
Any player who doesn’t fire Scott Boras as their agent is really dumb. It needs to be done just out of principle at this point.
What offers was he getting 3 months ago?
Has to be the worst Scott Boras off-season in his career.
Who had the Diamondbacks in the pool? Shohei?…
Rsox
I posted this yesterday
scottaz
12 hours ago
Teams seem to sense Montgomery’s asking price is coming back to reality, so now any number of teams might sign him. Rumors in Arizona that the Dbacks have interest in signing him. Sounds like there are no short term high average annual value offers with opt outs. Rather 4 or 5 year deals with AAV at or under $20M per.
Yet it seems like the market was still small. Where were the Rangers? This is in essence a one-year deal. He was one of their heroes, they’re going to have a big attendance and concessions bump, they have cost certainty on their RSN deal in 2024, they have a billionaire owner, yet they couldn’t find a way to bring Montgomery back?
Rangers Payroll currently sits at $240,148,166 according to Sportrac & they are second time offenders of going over so that adds on 30% plus their 12% then add in another $25M for Montgomery, that puts them over the second tax bracket & changes the equation to 30% plus 42.5%=72.5%.
So Montgomery would really cost Texas $43,125,000 instead of $25,000,000. Big Difference.
Good for Arizona. Rotation and options seem solid.
I think if ask was reasonable in length, where teams would have a chance to attain value in signing , Montgomery would have gotten maybe 100/4.. I do not blame any Owner (business) from attempting to avoid a long commitment of cash. The stats are well documented.
Not an outlay you would expect Ken Kendrick to green light. Really a K that every contender could afford to make and should have pursued. Kendrick and his mouthpiece Derrick Hall will really be stepping up the push for public funding to renovate Chase Field after this offseason payroll boost.
The owners have to be popping champagne corks on this one. It reinforces the idea that owners will no longer pay at the same level as they have–certainly later in the offseason. The fear of musical chairs will cause more FAs to take an earlier offer for less to make sure they don’t fall into the trap of fewer teams available. Montgomery is a good pitcher, not a great one. He may have just reset the market for his type of arm. Looks like only two of top 50 MLBTR are unsigned–Brandon Belt and Clevinger
Whenever the Yankees say they are interested in a player or they are talking to a player is a rule of thumb they were never interested in the player….Trashman and Hal are only dumpster divers.
Good deal for the D-Backs. And potentially for Monty if he pitches well.
Tiger’s FO must be BIG fans of Willie or Won’t he Nelson’s son……
Our long national nightmare is over
This is just simple collusion towards Boras clients.
Imagine losing about $100M in a long term deal and still have to pay 7-10% commission on your one year deal.
I would have let go the agent and sign a deal on my own with a team.
Boras Corp commission charge is 2%. Google it
I object to the word “youngster”. What an insult to a full grown young man. The writer must be, “doddering” or “elderly”.
Lol
…..at least I read it.
Sports writers make me laugh. Throughout the off season, they have had Monty going to Texas, St. Louis, Boston, New York, and maybe Philadelphia; anyplace to keep fans reading. In truth they know exactly as much as we do.
The luxury tax has changed the landscape of free agent signings. The big market teams are not going to sign these guys and pay 110% in taxes. Is Monty worth > $50K? No. Is Snell worth > $60K? No. Where does all of the luxury tax money go to anyway? To small market teams who put it in their pockets and continue to not spend it on players?
$M, not $K or k. $50k is lunch for the team.
Deal should include a background check, not just a picture of the infield. Check for gambling & any future tjs needed
Boras big 4:
Snell 1 yr $32 mil
Montgomery 1 yr $25 mil
Chapman 3 yr $54mil
Belly 3 yr $80 mil
Boras is gonna be working @ taco bell after all his clients leave him after this pathetic underwhelming offseason
Nice hot take….
here’s mlbrumors predictions:
bellinger: Twelve years, $264MM
snell: Seven years, $200MM
montgomery: Six years, $150MM
chapman: Six years, $150MM
boras got his clients $573 million less than what was predicted lol
Johnny – Thank you, love the summary!
Mlbtr is an agent run site. What’d you expect
NL West tally ho
Looks like Montgomery is the biggest Boras snafu this free agency period.
Boras is looking like such a mule right now!
Sat out the spring for $25 mil….
Montgomery taking a one year pillow contract is crazy…This was a clear message from teams they are done dealing with Boras..nothing more Montgomery could have gotten 4 years at 25 if not for Boras……
Somebody tried to fly too high and their wings melted.
Yeah, what happened to the “insider” information yesterday that had Monty with “several long-term” deals in the table?
– what a stooge Boras is becoming… Absolutely no team is biting on his pressured sales pitches anymore. To try to spin these as successes because of opt-outs is like the runner up to the 3rd WC spot talking about how great their season was because they were competitive when they lost.
Nice to have another lefty in the starting rotation.
Texas Rangers legend.
It’s really simple. Teams aren’t willing to give long term deals to pitchers recently… Except the Dodgers and Phillies of course
The Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy and the Red Sox deciding not to spend may have something to do with it. That’s half the league tightening their budgets until they sign new TV deals.
YankeesBC
The Dbacks were dropped by Bally/Diamond Sports Group a year ago and still don’t have a TV contract. They don’t use that as an excuse, as a matter of fact they have shattered all previous year’s spending w/o a new tv contract. What does that say about the BSox and all the other franchises effected by the Diamond bankruptcy proceedings?
Oh of course. And having that one ‘dumb’ team with lots of money (Angels/Mets) also deciding not to spend really hurt the market for pitchers looking for pricey long-term deals. .
Rays – Also except the Red Sox (Bello) and Astros (Hader) and every team that made a $300M+ offer to Yamamoto (Mets, Yankees, etc)
True. But Bello is a a top prospect within the organization and not an FA. Closers got more long-term commitments than starters. I think teams would rather have a short term higher AAV commitment. Less dead money in the future. Less risk than giving out a 7-8 year deal at 200+ mil. As for Yamamoto…it feels like his hype may have dictated his market since it seems most teams saw him as an ace… He will likely bounce back but by how much remains to be seen. If he doesn’t recover and has an ERA over 3.50 I bet teams won’t trust
I guess I should have clarified that teams aren’t willing to spend on starting pitching and not pitching in general.
I think the Snakes could really surprise a lot of the experts and runaway with that division. The Dodgers are great, but their rotation is very fragile and could falter badly if they lose a couple guys.
Not really a surprise to compete this year considering last season with prospects finally coming to fruition. Sophomore slump maybe, but the talent is there.
2 of Boras’ clients got substantial increases in their salary over what projections were and 2 got about what they were expected to get. All are FA at the end of 2024.
All will get long term deals based on their 2024 salary as a base for negotiations next offseason when there will be no questions of TV money and going into CBA negotiations owners are not going to want to scrimp.
Maybe Scott Boras will have to actually negotiate and conduct business in good faith like everyone else as opposed to his usual predatory practice of letting a player rot at home without a team until he gets the moon and the sun. He tried to have a Mexican standoff with MLB teams and lost the game of chicken. Oh the joy this brings my heart.
Can we just say this out loud…. It’s ridiculous that every mlb team, including my Braves, weren’t willing to do this deal. Dbacks went from a pretty good team that had a good run in 2023, to a contender by adding ERod, to a legit contender by adding montgomery almost over night. like of course they were still playoff contenders, but now id put them im a different tier. like the phillies tier
Isn’t Edwin rodgeuiguez injured again? Id have liked the Braves to add a big name front line starter but they have enough pitching depth in the minors with starters recovering from injury.
The Dbacks next should sign J.D. Martinez to a 1 year, $8M contract.
He signed with the mets last week
There will be a huge difference between the Dback’s OD lineup and their lineup for most of the season and into the Postseason.
Starting 5 on OD will be Gallen, Kelly Henry, Pfaadt and Nelson. For most of the season it will be Gallen, Kelly, Rodriquez, Montgomery and Pfaadt.
The OD Closer will be Kevin Ginkel. For most of the season it will be Paul Seawald.
The DH tandem will be Joc Pederson/Blaze Alexander on OD, but later will be Pederson/Grichuk.
The OD SS will be Geraldo Perdomo, but after the All-Star break might just be Jordan Lawler.
In case of injuries, there is major league depth almost everywhere. This team is in a great position to return to the WS in 2024!
HUGE MONEY !!!!! Wow, it feels like an insane price.
A couple of thoughts about the Montgomery signing:
1) Montgomery is Not a #1, he is a middle of the rotation starter. The Dbacks didn’t need a #1, they already have Gallen.
2) Montgomery was a better “get” here at the beginning of the season than anyone the Dbacks could have picked up at the Trade Deadline for 1/2 a season. And he costs just $$$ not a huge ransom in Prospects.
3) As a Dback fan, I’m as surprised as anyone that the Dbacks achieved this coup. Pleasantly surprised.
Dbacks last year were a disaster in their starting rotation, a shambles of a bullpen, and a core of hungry 23 year olds, built into a surprising WS participant! This year, they are a rock solid contender with no holes in their lineup, an experience young core with positive Postseason experience, and a successful team constructed to sustain that success for many years.
Honestly, I agree with the FO of the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, etc., all those teams at or above the highest spending thresholds, that Montgomery is/was not worth what they would have had to pay to get him. In fact, I think the Dbacks overpaid to get him, even at this seeming bargain price. The Dbacks FO made the right offer, at the right time and got Montgomery when no one thought they could/would/should.
Good fit. Didn’t see it coming.
I agree. Hopefully the Diamondbacks keep building up. It would be nice to see more competition in the NL West.
Appears MLB Owners colluded against Boras.
Zona gets off to a good April start, Montgomery shows up in May to improve the rotation. He’s a big step up from the #5 the DBacks have.
1. Montgomery should fire his agent
2. John Henry is a POS and should sell the team.
This goes to show you how bad Brian cashman is. He trades the guy and he would rather play in Arizona than a short ride to Boston to be with wife.
Goes to show you the Yankees were never interested or he hates New York that much.
Or maybe the NYY are capped out.
Correct Joe….
Monty’s deal would have cost the Yankees upwards of $50 million for a 1 year contract with incentives further driving up the cost…..given his body of work, do you really think Monty deserves that type of money for a good…not great….playoff run with Texas last season….not demeaning him but the Yankees reality was they were capped out by the lux tax…..bad timing for them and they has already made their bed with Stroman who came much cheaper and has pretty much a similar body of work……
I did not win the mega millions so I’m stuck here on MLBTR again
Goodness the NL is going to be a bloodbath. Wish the Cubs would have paid the tax this year for this guy on this deal. What a missed opportunity.
Wonder if a few teams regret sorting out their pitching as early as they did? E.g. would the Braves have still traded for Sale if they knew 1 year deals for Snell/Monty were possible?
The Sale trade was more about getting Sale for almost no $$$ in exchange for a kid they had no position for. IMO, those are always the best trades, both ways.
I’d rather have the question marks of Sale with a healthy and normal ST ready-to-go than a discounted SP trying to get ready in-season and caught up to speed. They’re vets and can do it, but it’s not ideal. ARZ has enough pitching depth (Ryne Nelson looked great in ST) to hold until E-Rod is back and Monty is ready to go.
The Cardinals are probably kicking themselves. They had a lot of needs in the rotation, so it makes sense that they would have jumped on a big guy like Gray. In hindsight, maybe a but of an overpay. They could have done much better than Lynn/Gibson though..
Boston, dislike Henry all you want but you avoid a bad contract with Montgomery. Remember, he wa on 3 teams last season all in which none paid him for a new contract all with money.
The only reason Boston was in the discussion by every comment was the no-it-all notion that he wanted to be close to his wife who is doing some type of medical residency in Boston….goes to show a couple of things; commenters generally don’t know squat about the real facts as it has been said she is very short term in Boston…..secondly players are going to follow the best deal they can get regardless of team……loving fall leaves, likes Texas bar-b-que….all that kind of bull means nothing…..the real inside of MLB is like the stock market…by the time general investors hear about a hot stock, it is already going cold……..
Crazy to think him and Snell ended up with the contracts they received. Nola and Yamamoto looking like big overpays already
NL West is lookin stacked
You shoot for the stars and end up with the moon. Knock Boras all you want but he got $50M for a 31-year-old guy that has won 38 games in his career and his basically a .500 pitcher with less than a K per inning. And if he wants, he can opt out after this year. $50M. That’s not chump change.
Another client Boras screwed up , 1 year with an option, why didn’t the Mets do this or the Yanks said they wanted him back.
Boston did not give him an option to be in the post season. Pure and simple.
I can’t believe other teams wouldn’t offer him more than 25 million especially with pitching being in such high demand! I think Boras overplayed his hand and organizations were tired of dealing with him! I know I’m disappointed that the Cardinals didn’t get him back for that price but adding more teams to the Playoffs make owners not spend as much because they don’t have to win as many games…
This is in effect a two year contract. 10 starts is nothing to trigger the vesting option. Boras looks like a fool and so do a lot of teams that could use Montgomery on a contract like this.
How does the AL go 0-for-4 on the Boras Four? Pathetic effort, especially since there was some serious discount or low risk opportunities…
Call me crazy but this deal tells me something came up in Monty’s medicals that scared teams off. I’m not saying that Boras and Montgomery definitely thought wrong on his market. Look at the deal. It’s an opt-out after he starts the 10 or 12 games then the other option in for 23 starts. That’s strange to me seeing as how he has been a horse his whole career. At the price he went for I’m thinking something is wrong or not quite right with him. Maybe like Correa. Who really knew about that ankle until the report came out. I like Monty but to me he is the left handed Jeff Suppan of this generation. Maybe baseball realized that. Crazy theory I know.
Nice addition here, Arizona got better for a lot cheaper than the Dodgers.
Overrated.
Not so much, he’s been a solid pitcher to say the least since his TJ surgery and was superb in the playoffs which is when you need your SP’s at there best. An overrated pitcher is someone in the category of Rodon.
Rangers will never win another one after the absolute clown decision to let this man walk.
of the teams offering a similar contract, AZ may have been the best option to return to post season play. If he shines again, it’s more likely that bigger $ becomes available.
Many of you have asked the question: “Why didn’t my team sign Montgomery for that contract?” Here are your answers. Pick the one that best applies to your team.
1). Montgomery wants to go back to the WS. The Dbacks are going back, my team isn’t.
2). Mike Hazen is a brilliant GM who timed his offer to Montgomery perfectly. My GM is a ditz.
3). The Dbacks didn’t spend foolishly in Free Agency, my team did. The Dbacks had money to spend, my team would have been forced to spend twice as much to get Montgomery. Once again, Hazen out maneuvered my GM.
4). The Dbacks are a young team on the rise, my team is treading water. Montgomery wanted to play for a winner.
5). I wish I was a Dbacks fan. My team sucks.
Please select all that apply.
:))
Probably few occurrences where healthy top of his game veteran WS hero begins the following season in the minors