The Rangers reunited with a pitcher from their 2023 World Series triumph, agreeing to a one-year deal with left-hander Jordan Montgomery on Friday. Terms of the deal were not announced, but it's been reported that the contract is for $1.25 million.
To make room for Montgomery on the club’s 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Zak Kent has been designated for assignment.
Montgomery won’t be ready for the start of the season as he is still rehabbing after undergoing Tommy John surgery this past April. It’s the second TJ procedure of his career, with the first one coming in 2018, his second season.
This is the Rangers' second acquisition this offseason to bolster their already-formidable pitching staff after trading for MacKenzie Gore last month.
New Rangers manager Skip Schumaker was the bench coach in St. Louis in 2022, when Montgomery was traded from the Yankees to the Cardinals.
“He was phenomenal,” Schumaker said. “Back then, I didn't really know much about him. When he came over, he dominated for us, helped with that second-half push to get into the playoffs. He was a great clubhouse guy. Everybody loved him on our staff. Obviously, I know what he did for Texas in ‘23, so yeah, he’s awesome.”
Before his most recent action in 2024, Montgomery had a three-year stretch from 2021-23 in which he was a reliable-but-never-dominant starter. He made at least 30 starts and had an ERA under 4.00 in each season, while his FIP totals clustered together at 3.69, 3.61 and 3.56, respectively.
The ‘23 season was Montgomery’s best, as he recorded a 3.20 ERA -- and a career-high 136 ERA+ -- over 32 starts and 188 2/3 innings. But that’s only what he accomplished during the regular season. That year really stands out for the lefty because of what he accomplished with the Rangers, whom he joined following a midseason trade from the Cardinals.
Montgomery first twirled seven scoreless innings against the Rays in American League Wild Card Series Game 1 and then fired 6 1/3 scoreless frames against the Astros in ALCS Game 1 about two weeks later. Overall, he went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in six appearances that October (five starts), lifting the Rangers to their first World Series title in franchise history.
Montgomery then signed a one-year deal with a vesting player option with the D-backs just after 2024 Opening Day, but he struggled mightily in the desert. Montgomery registered a 6.23 ERA over 117 innings and saw his strikeout rate drop from 21.4% the previous year to just 15.6%. Montgomery’s sinker, his most-used pitch, lost about 1.5 mph of velocity from 2023 and ended up getting pounded by opposing hitters (.376 average, .582 slugging percentage in 188 plate appearances ending on that pitch).
Hoping to bounce back in 2025 with Arizona after exercising his player option, Montgomery instead experienced left arm pain during Spring Training and was ultimately diagnosed with a torn UCL. He spent the second half of last season in the Brewers organization as he was dealt along with reliever Shelby Miller at the Trade Deadline to the NL Central champions.
Montgomery, who turned 33 in December, was a fourth-round Draft pick by the Yankees out of the University of South Carolina in 2014. He was solid in his '17 debut season, pitching to a 3.88 ERA over 29 starts and 155 1/3 innings. After six seasons with the Yanks, Montgomery was traded to the Cardinals in the middle of the '22 season in a one-for-one swap for outfielder Harrison Bader. He made 32 starts and logged a 3.31 ERA for St. Louis before being shipped off to Texas.
The Rangers' six-deep rotation currently includes Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Gore, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker and Jacob Latz. Montgomery and Cody Bradford are both expected to return midseason.
“The pitching depth is real,” Schumaker said. “You need, typically, nine or 10 to get through a season, and we're hoping for health. There's not many teams that have the same five every day, so you need depth. There's no doubt about that. Our front office is doing everything they can to help us create that. But right now, my focus is all the guys in the clubhouse.”