A Jordan Montgomery trade makes a lot of sense for Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves.
Atlanta has a clear need to bolster the rotation, with Max Fried and Charlie Morton potentially parting ways with the organization this offseason. That need was exacerbated when news broke that Spencer Strider wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day.
But what makes it feel exactly like something that would interest Anthopoulos is everything happening on the other side of the table. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Diamondbacks are potentially willing to “eat” part of Montgomery’s salary in order to facilitate a trade. Passan described Montgomery as “near the top of the list of players likeliest to get dealt.”
Montgomery signed a one-year deal with a player option to join Arizona last offseason after helping lead the Rangers to the World Series in 2023, but he didn’t sign until the end of March, leading him to miss spring training. That unusual offseason hampered him in the early going of the season, and Montgomery was never able to find a rhythm, eventually falling out of the rotation altogether in August.
He finished the season with a putrid 6.23 ERA through 25 appearances and 117.0 innings pitched. It was a foregone conclusion that Montgomery would exercise his $22.5 million player option for 2025, even after he was ridiculed by the owner.
Following the season, Ken Kendrick told Arizona Sports it was “a horrible decision to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did. It’s our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint, and I’m the perpetrator of that.”
It just doesn’t seem like a relationship that is going to be mended, which is where the Braves come in because Jordan Montgomery isn’t a 6.23 ERA pitcher. His 4.48 FIP suggests that ERA was a bit inflated; even more, the veteran recorded a 3.48 ERA over the three seasons prior with the Yankees, Cardinals, and Rangers.
He’s the perfect buy-low, high-upside candidate that Alex Anthopoulos is looking for because it’s all about value. Jordan Montgomery isn’t wanted in Arizona so badly that the Diamondbacks are even willing to eat a portion of his salary.
That screams Atlanta Braves.
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Photo: Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire
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