Phillies reportedly interested in Jordan Montgomery on short-term deal

While the Philadelphia Phillies project to have one of the better starting rotations in the league, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and company are apparently leaving open the possibility of adding another accomplished starter under the right circumstances.

MLB.com‘s Todd Zolecki reports that the Phillies “would take left-hander Jordan Montgomery on a one-to-two-year deal, but he isn’t ready to sign for that.”

The 31-year-old left-hander went 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA, 3.56 FIP and 4.3 WAR across 188 2/3 innings pitched in 2023, a campaign he split between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. Montgomery was excellent in the postseason, posting a 2.90 ERA over 31 innings, as the Rangers won the first World Series title in franchise history.

While it was perhaps predictable that there would be concerns about two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell as a free agent — because he’s never pitched in a major market, and only has two seasons where he’s pitched more than 130 innings — it is surprising that Montgomery is still a free agent.

Montgomery was not eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Rangers because he was traded during the 2023 season, so the Phillies, or any other interested suitor, wouldn’t have to give up draft compensation to sign him. By comparison, if the Phillies signed Snell — who rejected a qualifying offer from the San Diego Padres — they would have to surrender second-and-fifth-round picks in the 2024 MLB Draft, along with $1 million in international bonus pool money.

In recent years, the Phillies have limited their ability to sign international talent and draft future stars by signing qualified free agents, such as Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner. The Phillies did sign Aaron Nola — who rejected a qualifying offer — to a seven-year/$172 million deal, but because they were retaining their own player, they don’t have to give up draft compensation. Going an offseason without signing a player that requires you to give up high draft picks would probably be a good thing for the long-term health of the organization. Signing Montgomery would allow the Phillies to get better and retain their picks.

At the same time, because Montgomery doesn’t come with a qualifying offer attached to him, he and agent Scott Boras are well within their rights to believe that should increase how much he gets in terms of dollars and years on the market. Joel Sherman of The New York Post

reported in January that there was a belief in the sport that Montgomery hoped to top the $172 million that Nola received from the Phillies. As the regular season nears, he may have to back off of that desire, but that hardly means settling for a one-year deal.

Still, it is curious that there seems to be a lack of serious suitors for Montgomery. Sure, he’s a veteran of Tommy John surgery, but the fact that he’s logged 367 innings over the past two seasons should alleviate any concerns about him from a medical sense. The incumbent Rangers have been viewed by most as the favorites to ultimately sign Montgomery, but Texas general manager Chris Young seemed to suggest a reunion isn’t especially likely when meeting with the media Wednesday.

If not the Rangers, things are really wide open for Montgomery. Could he return to the New York Yankees, the team he spent the first five-and-a-half seasons of his career with? The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants make sense on paper, but none of them have pounced to this point.

The feeling here is that settling for Montgomery and Boras probably doesn’t mean taking a one-year deal. More likely is signing for four or five seasons, with a chance to opt out after the first or second season and return to the free-agent market. If it comes down to signing just for a year or two, the Rangers — one of the many MLB teams uncertain how much revenue they will receive over the long run via their TV contract with Diamond Sports Group — would probably re-emerge as the favorites. But obviously, the lower the price goes, the more the Phillies should be interested.

For now, the Phillies appear to be in a pretty solid situation with a starting rotation of Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sánchez. But you never know.

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