{"id":95697,"date":"2025-02-14T14:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T19:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=95697"},"modified":"2025-02-14T14:30:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T19:30:08","slug":"jordan-montgomery-trade-rumors-destinations-diamondbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/02\/14\/jordan-montgomery-trade-rumors-destinations-diamondbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Left-Hander and Diamondbacks Headed for a Split \u2013 Could It Spark a Trade?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jordan Montgomery has become one of the more intriguing trade candidates this spring. Despite a rough 2024 season, he still caught the attention of insiders, including The Athletic’s Jayson Stark<\/a>, who surveyed 32 executives on the players most likely to be traded. Dylan Cease led the way with 12 votes, followed by Nolan Arenado (9), Luis Robert Jr. (6), and Montgomery (4). The inclusion of Cease and Arenado highlights the surprising nature of this year’s trade market, with both star players unexpectedly becoming<\/a> central figures in trade discussions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jordan Montgomery and Diamondbacks Headed for a Split<\/h2>\n

Montgomery posted the worst ERA (6.23) and WHIP (1.65) of any pitcher who threw at least 110 innings last season. His struggles led to public criticism from Diamondbacks ownership, and the team made a decisive move<\/a> by signing Corbin Burnes\u2014leaving little room for Montgomery in the rotation.<\/p>\n

Arizona\u2019s five-man rotation isn\u2019t set in stone, but Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Eduardo Rodr\u00edguez are expected to fill four spots. That leaves Montgomery competing with Brandon Pfaadt, a key piece in the 2023 World Series run, and Ryne Nelson, who went 10-6 with a 4.24 ERA in 25 starts last season.<\/p>\n

No Plans For a Six-Man Rotation<\/h3>\n

Manager Torey Lovullo ruled out the idea of a six-man rotation, per The Arizona Republic\u2019s Jos\u00e9 M. Romero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“When he walked in the door (Monday), I saw he looked great,” Lovullo said of Montgomery. “Last year was a very difficult year for him. It’s all well-being documented.<\/p>\n

“We don’t need to talk about any of it, other than this is a fresh start, he’s walking into spring training, getting to know his teammates, getting grounded, feeling at home. I know that’s very important for the athletes.”<\/p>\n

Montgomery was eventually moved to the bullpen between August and September before starting in his final two appearances of the season. Better numbers were expected of Montgomery, who signed a one-year, $25 million<\/a> contract in free agency last season, with the player option of $22.5 million picked up for this year.<\/p>\n

Potential Trade Destinations<\/h3>\n

While no official offers have emerged, trade chatter suggests several teams might take a chance on Montgomery. Clubs in need of pitching depth could see value in him with upside despite past struggles. Rumored suitors include organizations like the Atlanta Braves, who are retooling their rotation; the San Diego Padres, known for bold moves in the market; and the Los Angeles Dodgers, always on the lookout for pitching talent.<\/p>\n

Other teams, such as the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins, might also explore a deal if Montgomery\u2019s price aligns with his potential.<\/p>\n

What’s Next for Montgomery?<\/h3>\n

Trade speculation aside, Montgomery\u2019s future remains uncertain. With the Diamondbacks solidifying their rotation around established arms, Montgomery faces a pivotal juncture. A move could give him a fresh start while staying might mean a relegation to the fringes of the rotation. As the trade window looms, all eyes will remain on this left-hander to see if he can defy expectations and reinvent himself.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: \u00a9 Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jordan Montgomery has become one of the more intriguing trade candidates this spring. Despite a rough 2024 season, he still caught the attention of insiders, including The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, who surveyed 32 executives on the players most likely to be traded. Dylan Cease led the way with 12 votes, followed by Nolan Arenado (9), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":95699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,1071],"tags":[3826,2231,985,1166,2522,5544,1820],"class_list":["post-95697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diamondbacks","category-mlb","tag-brandon-pfaadt","tag-corbin-burnes","tag-eduardo-rodriguez","tag-jordan-montgomery","tag-merrill-kelly","tag-ryne-nelson","tag-zac-gallen"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95700,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95697\/revisions\/95700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}