Texas Rangers fans want left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery back. It’s like the Texas Rangers’ front office wants Montgomery back. Heck, even Hurtado Barbecue wants Montgomery back, to the point where they’re offering him free barbecue for life to return to Arlington. But Montgomery remains unsigned. The 30-year-old free agent should have plenty of suitors after his short stint with the Rangers, where he become one of their best starters and helped lock down several key postseason wins, including Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in relief of Nathan Eovaldi.
Well, the time is coming for Montgomery, along with other free agents like Blake Snell and Shota Imanaga, to get deals done. Pitchers and catchers report in five weeks and teams want to have their full complement of players on the roster, if possible. So, where will Monty end up? On Sunday, USA Today insider Bob Nightengale provided his 10 predictions for the rest of Spring Training. This included the destinations for several free agents. One was Montgomery. Montgomery’s 2023 season turned out to be his best overall season, even though he finished 10-11 overall. He had a 3.20 ERA, struck out 166 and walked 48. Those numbers got better with the Rangers, where he went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA.
In the postseason, he got even better. Montgomery went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA. That was the perfect launching pad to get a contract with a lot of zeroes at the end. Many believe he’ll get a deal north of $100 million. But will he end up back in Texas? Nightengale thinks so: The Texas Rangers, who have been wary of spending with the uncertainty of their TV contract, will re-sign Jordan Montgomery. Simply, he’s too valuable not to bring back for an encore. Nightengale also wrote that while the Yankees are interested in him, Montgomery’s preference is to stay with Texas. That would be great news for Texas, as three pitchers — Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and new signee Tyler Mahle — are expected to miss time in 2024 due to various injuries. Montgomery would join Nathan Eovaldi, Dane Dunning, Andrew Heaney and Jon Gray in a potential Opening Day rotation, with Cody Bradford as a back-fill.
