The Yankees seem to be considering a reunion with former rotation stalwart Jordan Montgomery, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. The club has been “looking at” Montgomery as a possible offseason signing, and it appears to be slightly more than just due diligence, as Heyman writes that “the Yankees have been particular about rotation targets.” Previous reports have linked such arms as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Frankie Montas, Yariel Rodriguez, and (before he re-signed with the Phillies) Aaron Nola to the Yankees’ pitching wishlist, and it’s probably safe to assume the Bronx Bombers have some level of interest in Shohei Ohtani even though he won’t be able to pitch in 2024.
Obviously Montgomery is a known quantity for the Yankees, having started his pro career in the pinstripes after being drafted in the fourth round in 2014. Debuting in the majors in 2017, Montgomery posted a 3.94 ERA, 22.68% strikeout rate, and 6.93% walk rate over his 502 2/3 innings with New York, establishing himself as a solid and even underrated member of the starting five.
Despite this success, the left-hander was dealt to the Cardinals at the 2022 trade deadline in a move that since become infamous in the Bronx. Harrison Bader came from St. Louis in the one-for-one-swap, and apart from a spectacular power surge during the Yankees’ 2022 playoff run, Bader’s time in New York was a disappointment. The outfielder played in only 98 regular season games due to injuries, and hit .237/.274/.353 over 359 plate appearances before the Yankees put him on waivers this past August.
Meanwhile, Montgomery’s star (and free agent price tag) only continued to rise. He pitched well for St. Louis during the rest of the 2022 season and into 2023, though the Cardinals’ own struggles saw Montgomery again on the move at the deadline, this time to the Rangers. From there, Montgomery became one of the key factors of the Rangers’ World Series run — he posted a 2.79 ERA over 67 2/3 innings in the regular season just to help Texas get into the playoffs, and the lefty then had a 2.90 ERA over 31 postseason frames.
MLBTR ranked Montgomery sixth on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting him for a six-year, $150MM contract. Nola received the same projection and landed a seven-year, $172MM deal from Philadelphia, so it is quite possible Montgomery might also beat our prediction even though he is six months older and has a past Tommy John surgery on his record. However, Montgomery wasn’t eligible for the qualifying offer due to the midseason trade, so a team that signs him wouldn’t have to surrender any draft picks or international pool money as compensation.
This is undoubtedly of interest to a Yankees team that surpassed the luxury tax last year, and thus would pay the higher penalty of two picks and $1MM of int’l bonus money for signing any qualified free agent. New York’s interest in such players as Nola, Ohtani, or Cody Bellinger indicates that the Bombers are open to signing QO-rejecting free agents, though it’s fair to speculate that the Yankees might be willing to take the plunge for only one such player. For instance, Bellinger might be a bit of a priority since hitting is a greater need for the Yankees, but they could then also look one of many non-QO pitchers, including top-tier names like Yamamoto or Montgomery.
It is fair to speculate whether or not the past history with Montgomery and the Yankees is an obstacle in any negotiations. Naturally GM Brian Cashman would love to have a do-over of the Bader trade, and since his concerns over Montgomery’s viability as a postseason starter have now been firmly proven wrong, what better public mea culpa than a $150MM contract? Montgomery might see it as water under the bridge and be willing to return to complete some unfinished business in the Bronx. On the other hand, it seems possible that Montgomery simply wants to move on from an organization that once considered him expendable, and would prefer to join either a new team altogether or one of his other former clubs in Texas or St. Louis.
Yeah that’s not happening. Why would he want to go back there when they’ve told him he isn’t good enough to start in the postseason?
To be honest he’s not good enough. He’s very hot and cold. But I’d still rather have one Montgomery than a duo of Rodon/Montas
3.20 ERA last year
3.68 lifetime ERA
2.67 career post season ERA
Yet dudes on this board are saying he’s just meh. The stats say you’re highly incorrect. He’s a solid 3 on a Championship level rotation. With Cole and Rodon as the 1-2, Monty makes for a great, reliable 3.
Chris young has made good moves and bad moves like any other gm, but he’s consistently tried to get pitching. I’ll be a little surprised if he doesn’t resign with the rangers, but I can see more than a dozen teams making offers and maybe some of those are higher than what the rangers want to do.
They’ll have to get by the Guardians massive offer
He’s very good. It’s always gonna come down to, for these people, how many he strikes out. If you don’t strike out at least a guy per inning you are probably lucky and you certainly arent very good. The “logic” that passes for these “advanced” thinkers is so absurdly flawed. It’s all biases. They have traded the “old school” biases for nearly equally absurd ones. And they pride themselves on those biases. It’s the same thing we have seen all over the world the last 300 years. Trading one set of biases for “more evolved” ways of being equally bias. Most people learn a few saber stats and use them in a very flawed way.
I think if Yamamoto is going elsewhere, don’t be shocked to see Monty signing with the Yankees for 6 or 7 years. I wouldn’t be shocked if Yamamoto is their lst choice though.
Rodon isn’t a #2 starter. Good luck with that albatross contract. Another Cashman gem…
That’s not a “solid 3” that’s a superb 3 on a championship-level rotation (which is a little vague, tbh). It’s much more a solid #2 in this decade
He’s certainly better than the #3 nearly all postseason teams used. You’d be hard pressed to name two #3 starters this past postseason who are clearly better than Montgomery.
@yanksphan very weird and insanely incorrect analysis on your part there.
I think Jackstrawb came up with a good exercise so I went through all the playoff rotations and expanded it to over 500 clubs to find another, BETTER third best pitcher. Just as I expected, Montgomery would far and away have been the best no.3 pitcher on any team you put him on. The next best I found was Tyler Glasgow, and that’s if you don’t concern yourself with silly things like Innings Pitched.
If Montgomery was your no3 than you almost certainly have the best rotation for the season.
Even if Monty regresses to his 2021-2022 form, who wouldn’t take someone with a 3.60-3.70 ERA and 160-170 innings a year?
He is like all Yankee players who have sub performances with the Yankees, but perform at higher levels for their new team. They use the excuse of New York, but they perform poorly because of the Front Office and Coaching Staff incompetence.
Sox will either get Monty or drive the price NY Pays through the ceiling.
“To be honest he’s not good enough.” His 2023 run begs to differ. You say he’s hot and cold, but he’s been remarkably consistent for his entire career and found an extra gear in the postseason this year despite being at a career high in innings pitched. Seems more like he’s a competitor who’s sneakily good and the Yankees were predictably idiots when evaluating him.
Agreed
The same sort of oversimplified way of thinking about sabermetrics, and K rates especially, is what led to the bad trade the Yankees originally made. They thought they’d found their sabermetrics darling in return but they got an injury prone backup.
They thought they’d found their sabermetrics darling in return but they got an injury prone backup.
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Monty and Montas were very similar when they got traded. Same ERA+, similar K/W. I think Cashman saw the trade as a lateral pitching move which landed him a CF.
I doubt sabermetrics played a part.
It was astounding front office malfeasance to deal Montgomery for Bader–pretty close to a firing offense. They probably wanted to appease Judge and guarantee they’d be taking him out of CF after that, but it was a blunder that won’t be forgotten any time soon.
I see one of the most consistent pitchers in the league.
He’s better than a lot of injury-prone guys they have now in NY, outside of Gerrit Cole
He was good enough not to be traded for Harrison Bader though. That’s the point.
He’s not good enough? Tell us you didn’t just watch the postseason without telling us. He was dominant.
Keep dreaming, that Rodon contact at 27M annually will be around for a while.
Imagine doubling down on this god-awful “he isn’t good enough for the postseason” garbage after the year and a half he’s had away from the Yankees.
The trade worked for NY in ’22 and Monte wasn’t going help the offense in ’23. I think he’s mature enough to understand he was depth that was moved to acquire a need. Plus he ended up a WS champ. What’s to be sore about?
The trade worked for NY in ’22
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How so?
They don’t make the ALCS w/o Bader.
Making the ALCS and another loss to the Astros adds up to another failed season in the Bronx. Stop making excuses for Cashman that trade was terrible. Maybe worst than the Donaldson trade. And trading away pitching prospects for an injured Frankie Montas.
I was not addressing any other trade or an overall assessment of Cashman. But thanks for the pointless and immature opinion. Have a nice day. Lol
Whatever helps you sleep at night bro.No need for an assessment.Any Yankee fan with a brain knows that Cashman has been hurting this team for years. Trading a solid no.3 starter for an injured 4th OF is the type of backwards thinking that’s made the Yankees the personal whipping boys of the Houston Astros. Maybe Montgomery could’ve pitch them past the Astros and into the WS considering the fact that we just saw him do that for another team.The overall arrogance of your response just demostrated a certain level of immaturity.
Making the ALCS is a failed season? That makes no sense at all. That’s a top 4 finish on the season and losing to the eventual WS winner makes it a Top 3. Pretty sure they went 7 games too which would be a Heartbreaker for either team to lose.
Since Bader was responsible for half the Yankee offense in that series and Monte was pitching nowhere near like he did with Texas this year it’s highly unlikely he would have won 3 games against HOU in ’22. Are you even thinking about what your suggesting?
You keep talking about an ALCS that the Yankees didn’t win. What did Bader do to help the offense in 2023? Are you suggesting that 7-8 game stretch made this a successful trade? Who made the decision that Montgomery wasn’t good enough to ever pitch in the postseason? A 6’6 lefty that throws 95-96mph? Is it so hard to believe that maybe he was in the process of becoming a better pitcher and the GM jumped the gun? He was pitching to an sub 4 ERA in the AL East for years. Don’t pretend like he was a scrub. Have to give a guy time to figure things out. It would’ve made much sense to keep him under team control than overpay for an injury prone Carlos Rodon who’s basically the same type of pitcher.
They were swept by the Astros in the 2022 ALCS. They didn’t get to a game 5 bro. Anything that comes short of a pennant in the Bronx is considered a failed season. NYC is a baseball town expectations are high. It’s not a small market mentality.
Probably the fact this his own GM trashed him on the way out, which turned out to be completely wrong. Fit matters to a lot of players and it would be more surprising than not if he was interested in going back to a place where he was obviously severely undervalued. It’s not like he’s going to be hurting for high-value offers from other teams.
Beat me to the punch 62
They are getting him drunk on Yankees lore and convincing him that his # will be retired with them someday..
I want the Red Dox to sign him and he can pitch with that chip on his shoulder. Always thought he was a solid pitcher. Yanks made a huge mistake trading him.
Would love to see Baltimore sign him so he can spank the Yanks on the way to another WS ring.
As a Yankee fan I don’t understand the hype with this guy. Yeah he’s a lefty. But he crumbles under pressure and gives up a lot of homeruns. He’s average. They should’ve just went year-to-year on him instead of trading for Bader. Instead of signing mediocrity in Rodon, they could’ve signed a Seth Lugo, etc
He pitched brilliantly in the postseason what are you saying?
He’s kidding himself rather than accepting the fact that that was a dumb trade for the yanks
True
Please show us an example of him “crumbling under pressure.” And his homerun rate is perfectly acceptable for a starting pitcher with above average control. His homerun rate has also declined significantly since he left the hitters playground that is Yankee Stadium.
It’s a weird complaint . 2021-2023 his HR rate is an elite 1.004 per 9 even with a majority of those innings in Yankee Stadium.
2.90 era in the post season this year. Was brilliant against the Astros in clutch games
Only pitcher ever to strike out Yordan Alvarez three times in a single game as well. The Yankees could never, the Astros are their daddy.
Huh? Dude’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, and shone during the post-season this past year. Rangers don’t sniff the WS without him.
You’re right. You don’t understand. I’m sure Montgomery doesn’t really care.
He hasn’t posted an average ERA since 2020. In 2023, he only had one bad month, which was May. In 2022, he only had one bad month in July and an okay one in September. His HR9 is pretty good since 2021 never going above 1.1 so not to bad there. His lifetime career in the postseason is 8-6 with a 2.63 ERA. I don’t really get your grudge, my man.
This has to be a troll post
LOL! At first I thought you were replying to me but then I realized you have to be responding to op.
@Salary yeah it’s either a troll or Cashman himself!
Yankees are coming unglued with that bloated roster of aging 1B/DH types no better than a 3rd place finish no matter who they sign
Yes, that is what they are best, if they even are that.
That would be a good place to start for NYY. Who have a world of issues like their pals in Queens.
I have been increasingly disappointed with the Yankees’ approach to roster construction. If he ever truly ‘had it’, I feel like Cashman and his scouts have lost it.
I can’t believe I am saying this, but I have almost no faith in them anymore.
They consistently double down on mediocrity or so-so results, they consistently get mediocre performances out of otherwise really solid players. They consistently seem to prefer to re-sign guys that are primed to move on from them. They make very big free agent splashes that are big big question marks that they notoriously overpay for and then are stuck with and might even have to operate like the player isn’t on the team sooner rather than later.
Now, granted, plenty of teams do this, too. Yankees aren’t the only ones who do this, who have these bloated bad contracts that will take a half decade to burn off and are basically immoveable on the trade market.
But that said- for the right price point there’s nothing wrong with Montgomery, but I am concerned about him at 6-7 years at $25M+ per season.
I am choosing to believe Rodon will bounce back a bit and wind up providing okay value for that contract. I am choosing to in the face of overwhelming indications this could be the Yankees simply burning $162M. I can’t believe he could be a worse liability than he was in the past year, either as an unavailable pitcher on the IL or as a ‘healthy’ player who’s a liability on the field….
I don’t think Montgomery would be that on a long term deal, but I am worried about having another pitcher who is solid as a rotation piece in the middle of the season, but an automatic liability if we got to the post season.
I am just….very concerned and disappointed with how the Yankees are operating across the board.
I think rodon will definitely bounce back, for what it’s worth. But agree, this team needs to change their direction.
If you think about it, it probably helped that he basically had two full years off from game level pitching effort, recovered, pitched two years of great baseball, re-injured himself…. meaning if the Yankees want to get anything out of that contract, let alone the guy who was pitching sub-3 ERA ball, they may need to like…. just have him rest for a year, try again in 2025 and hope that 2026-2027 are golden years for him, rest him in 2028 and then re-sign him to 2 years/$75M from 2029-2030, etc. lol
So keep asking him to rest for a year with no pay, then keep signing him for the next two years to play.
You don’t think Rodon will bounce back – what you have here is a case of wishful thinking that Rodon will bounce back – not happening.
I know. But I would rather hope against hope. Listen here- I’ve played the lottery for decades. I know what I’m about, son.
Oh I’ll take that bet – i think it’s likely he’ll bounce back
the most maddening thing for me is how much the yankees undervalue health as a skill. there’s an argument for trading a durable mid-rotation starter to address a need, but you don’t pick a player who can’t stay healthy
Rodon will bounce back somewhat if the FB velo is back up. Probably won’t give the Yanks near value over the 6 years, but maybe can be a 3/4 SP for 2 or 3 seasons.
Cashman has lost the touch of acquiring players on cheap like Gregorius, Voit, Hicks, Maybin, Tauchman, etc. which is essential because organization is horrid at drafting and developing.
Presently in a good place with prospect pool but 26 man is old and meh.
A lot of teams have no idea about roster construction. A big one is the team I follow.
I feel like if the Yankees just bit the bullet and cut Stanton, wrote off the money, the world would look a whole lot better from the Bronx. With a little health luck they have a pretty good rotation, and Judge anchoring an offense that could be cheaply improved with a 3B and LF. Stanton’s just bad karma.
they want to buy all free agents, get all MVPs, acquire all aces to then lose again. they should just fire Cashman and their staff and get rid of their clubhouse cancers. no one wants to play there.
If no one wants to play there, why would you fear that they sign all the free agents?
Yankees are a garbage team and need a complete tear down and rebuild. Trade all the assets and cut the rest of the trash.
Why would he even think about going back to the Yankees after they tried to get him to stop throwing curveballs, literally his best pitch, instead throwing cutters and that stupid overrated wacko Cashman said that he couldn’t be part of a postseason rotation?
Montgomery for master Bader is an underrated move in Cashman’s hall of shame.
Trading for Harrison Bader is one thing. But why did he need to give up Montgomery to get him smh? Cashman has been shorting Yankee fans for years.
They wish they could quit Monty but they keep coming back.
The same team that told him to abandon his fastball because according to the Yankees it’s no good. He would later go on to find success with the Cardinals by using said “useless” fastball more and now they want him back after trading him for a player they DFAd. Brian Cashman is a joke.
So basically Yankees are in on every free agent not named Sonny Gray. Got it.
Monty loved being a Yankee and was upset when traded and still communicates regularly with his friends there. In the end, though, he’ll go to the team offering the most money.
I just can’t picture him in a Yankees uniform.
Finally they have a good idea! Want to dish our all that money for Bellinger. Another example of targeting a player with questionable dedication in order to make up for their other poor signings. Sign Montgomery!!
cashman will have to overpay in order to get him.
Would take Monty back in a second, but with no bullpen he won’t come back
Yankees & cash stepped on their todgers trading Monty. It has become quite apparent that the Yankees aren’t good enough for Monty, not the other way around.
I don’t know why they need a “mea culpa” when a new GM would have been better. The Yankees might have undervalued Montgomery at the time of the trade–but the real sin was overvaluing Bader, and, once again, trading for or signing someone with an injury/injury history. It’s a mistake they make over and over. Yankees will likely not be playoff material for some time….does a 6 or 7 year contract to a pitcher who has talent but is not overpowering make sense?
Montgomery a Boras-repped player, an Heyman….doing his part to make a market? Or coincidence?
YamaSoto or bust.
Who aren’t the Yankees showing interest in??
I don’t see the benefit in this move unless they are planning on Montgomery coming out of the pen. They know what he brings.
Sorry you didn’t use your sarcasm font. JoMo would be your #2 and make that washed up team immediately better. Sadly he would not get another chance to lower his post season ERA if he signed with NYY. It’s time for a rebuild. Maybe Judge for a package headlined by Carter and Leiter. Then TX can resign Montgomery to play with his buddy.
With Carters postseason he’s not getting traded. Not to mention Langford knocking on the door to the bigs. I doubt the rangers would want to take on the Judge contract anyways.
Baders time in NY was not a disappoint. He hit FIVE postseason home runs.
A lot of good his 5 HR’s did. The real question is ….how did the YANKEES DO with those 5 HR’s ?
Montgomery just can’t handle the pressure of pitching under the big lights. (27… 27… 27) Some guys can, some can’t (27… 27… 27…) He might do well in St Louis and Texas, but in the big Apple… (27… 27… 27…) He just can’t do it.
What planet have you been on the past 7 years? Monty was the model of consistency. A totally solid, mid-rotation pitcher. He got better when he got away from Cashman’s Yankees and his idiotic analytics squad. Just like almost everyone else who escapes NYC. It ain’t the city that’s the problem, Cashman and his underlings are the problem. Nothing can repair that, except mass layoffs.
Which would be the best thing to happen to the Yankees since Derek Jeter.
Most of the current yankee team can’t do it. I doubt he goes back either way.
Montgomery complained about how the Yankees handled his pitching. He was better after he left them for it and won a World Series because of it. He’s not going back to the Yankees, nor should he under those circumstances.
Pettitte #2
Monty is a dog. CY let’s bring him back.
“For instance, Bellinger might be a bit of a priority since hitting is a greater need for the Yankees…” John Morosi said the same thing.
It’s interesting how much Jon Heyman’s writing has degraded working for the NY Post. He wrote much better enjoyable pieces almost two decades ago with Sports Illustrated. I guess he caters to his audience. I couldn’t read through that garbage.
NY Post. He wrote much better enjoyable pieces almost two decades ago with Sports Illustrated. I guess he caters to his audience
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I’m not sue how it is now, but back when newspapers were really newspapers, the NY Post had the best sports section in NYC, by a large amount. The Daily News and NYT usually didn’t even carry the west coast boxscores.
I don’t think Monty needs to make a market. Boras probably checked in with Cashman to see if he should follow-up with him if another team made a substantial offer. Doesn’t cost anything to say yes.
@Mikenmn
well lets see, Montgomery won 10 games last year, that will obviously get him $24m a year for 12 years. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If NYY signs Yamamoto or any decent starter then forget Montgomery. They will never pay him what he wants!
Would be a good acquisition for the Yankees. Then they need a guy or two to step up after a horrible 2023 performance on the mound.
Here’s a thought….. we trade Cashman…
That would be a great way to upgrade the team and stem the tide of stupid trades, lopsided, one-dimensional rosters, bad free agent signings and terrible player development.
But who would take that terminally overprivileged egomaniac?
J. Monty should tell the Yankees to go F off gave up on him for a 4th OF on the injured list. (I’m a Yankee fan). F Cashman
If Hal and the Yankees really want a win they need to get the following players:
Josh Hader
Yamonto
Bellinger
These are a must
You upgrade the rotation and bullpen which both need help bullpen more, and you get bellinger who unlike Soto you’re getting him for more than 1 year and you’re not losing any prospects. Its so silly to give up prospects/rookies when they are under control for a long time eap for a player who said they will def hot free agency and take no extensions no matter where he ends up.
Yankees were smart in 2009
Not because they bought players spent money but because they got exactly what they needed from the free agency in the winter meetings and they also didnt use analytics BS that is proving to not work all the time. Its not hard to build around the great team they already have. Keep the prospects sign the free agents and run the team how we did when we won in 2009 and the previous WS’s .