The Diamondbacks announced they’ve recalled Jordan Montgomery to make his team debut tonight against the Giants. Arizona also recalled outfielder Pavin Smith from Triple-A Reno. In corresponding moves, they placed starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow contusion and designated veteran infielder Jace Peterson for assignment.
Montgomery will take the ball opposite Blake Snell in the second game of their intra-division series. The southpaw officially signed with the D-Backs on Opening Day but agreed to an optional assignment to build into game shape. He started twice for Reno, allowing nine runs in 7 2/3 innings. While that’s clearly not the most impressive showing, his primary focus was building his workload. He threw 71 pitches in his start last Saturday. Montgomery’s contract stipulated that he’d be back in the majors no later than April 19, so the Snakes bring him up after a pair of rehab outings.
He joins Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly at the top half of the rotation. The D-Backs envisioned Eduardo Rodriguez holding a mid-rotation spot, but he’ll be out until at least late May because of shoulder issues. Brandon Pfaadt and Tommy Henry round out the starting five for now, as Montgomery steps into the spot which Nelson had been holding.
Nelson has allowed nine runs (eight earned) over his first 15 2/3 innings. The Oregon product has picked up 13 strikeouts and walked five. It was a slightly improved start relative to last season, when he pitched to a 5.31 ERA with a below-average 15.5% strikeout rate over 144 innings. A comebacker off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski got him in the throwing elbow last night, forcing him out of the game after two innings. It’ll cost him at least two weeks of action.
Arizona also makes a move on the position player side, almost certainly bringing an end to Peterson’s time in the desert. The D-Backs acquired him from the A’s in a deadline deal last summer. The versatile infielder was hitting .221/.313/.324 at the time. His bat slumped further after the trade, as he hit .183/.276/.258 without a home run in 41 games. Peterson didn’t play much of a role in the team’s pennant run and has gotten off to a very slow start in 2024.
The 33-year-old has collected just one hit, a single, in his first 22 at-bats. Since the D-Backs acquired him, Peterson owns a .157/.252/.217 slash line over 132 plate appearances. His recent production is a notable drop-off from the .243/.332/.376 mark which he managed for the Brewers between 2021-22.
That solid run in Milwaukee secured Peterson a two-year, $9.5MM free agent deal from Oakland. He’s making $5MM this year. The A’s agreed to pay $2MM as part of the trade, leaving the D-Backs on the hook for the remaining $3MM. That salary makes it a virtual lock he’ll go unclaimed on waivers. Peterson has more than enough service time to decline an outright assignment while retaining his entire salary, so the Snakes could simply release him within the next week. If he hits free agency, any team that signs him would pay him at the prorated $740K league minimum for whatever time he spends in the majors.
See if he has a better first start than Snell.
Snell has a history of strarting out slow and he almost won the cy young last year u guys know this with smell Jordan is a different story not much of a track record there
Snell won the NL CYA award last year and Montgomery has a very lengthy track record.
He’s won it twice. Hes obviously erratic as hell, but also capable of some serious stretches of excellence.
Snell has been absolute garbage for the Giants.
will montgomery be as rusty as snell has been so far?
snell’s first 2 starts will do wonders for his free agency this offseason. He barely got a 1 yr deal thanks to boras. at this rate he’ll be pitching for the long island ducks of the independent league this time next year. montgomery doesnt have to worry about boras anymore, since he fired him lol
“The D-Backs envisioned Eduardo Rodriguez holding a mid-rotation spot, but he’ll be out until at least late May because of shoulder issues.”
Uh, I thought it’s a lat issue?
It’s always something with E-Rod. He’s effective when his body and head are working.
The issue traveled up
No, it hasn’t.
Whoosh
@FartCopter. “Swing and a miss” would have been more appropriate considering this is a baseball site. =D
Too bad about Peterson. Overachieved in Milwaukee. What some people overlook is what a good player he was Atlanta early in his career. I nick named him DFA when the brewers DFA him. However, he came back and started for us in the playoffs shutting me up. Good Luck DFA. I hope you bounce back again.
Pavin Smith needs to ply his trade in the NPB. He’s a monster AAA, but hasn’t been able to put it together enough in the majors.
He has a good blend of patience and power that could really perform well abroad.
Jace Peterson is terrible. Bad teams give roster spots to players of his caliber. They should have kept Rivera and cut him.
It was really hard watching him try and play short. Guy is a platoon 3B at best
Henry was set down a few days ago. Could be recalled but they’d need to cut one of the nine relievers they’re carrying.
The only thing keeping Peterson on that roster was his K. Took awhile, but the snakes finally decided to act like big boys that expect/hooe to be a playoff team and stopped wasting a roster spot on Jace Peterson. Pavin Smith isn’t bringing much value if any to the backend of that roster either.
Newman essentially replaced peterson
The Boras Bowl!
I was hoping Nelson could avoid a stint on the IL. Looks like Tommy Henry will get the nod Tuesday in St. Louis. Hope the Dbacks can stay healthy once Rodriguez comes back at the end of May.
So far so good for Monty.
Yep, a pleasant surprise.
I think this offseason just proved front offices are no longer getting overly excited over a year or in Montgomerys case half a season and overlooking the past 2-3 years. Idk Chapmans full track record but of the “Boras four” I know Snell and Bellinger have been great or awful the past 3 year. Montgomery although consistent only pitched like a front line starter when he was traded at the deadline. These megadeals can cripple teams. They wanna see some consistency now before committing long term.