The Diamondbacks got here up simply shy of the postseason. Arizona missed out on the ultimate Wild Card spot through tiebreaker after the Mets and Braves cut up Monday’s doubleheader to every punch their ticket. Within the speedy aftermath of that disappointment, the membership’s proprietor offered a scathing criticism of one of many staff’s greatest offseason strikes.
Proprietor Ken Kendrick appeared on The Burns & Gambo Present on Monday afternoon. Requested concerning the staff’s late free agent pickup of Jordan Montgomery, the proprietor each took accountability for the signing whereas not holding again with an indictment of the southpaw’s efficiency.
“If anybody desires in charge anybody for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re speaking to the man that ought to be blamed,” Kendrick mentioned (beginning across the 12:45 mark). “As a result of I introduced it to (the entrance workplace’s) consideration. I pushed for it. They agreed to it. It wasn’t in our recreation plan. … And looking out again, in hindsight, a horrible resolution to have invested that cash in a man that carried out as poorly as he did. It’s our greatest mistake this season from a expertise standpoint. And I’m the perpetrator of that.”
It’s the sort of public criticism that an proprietor not often ranges at a participant who stays on the roster. Montgomery’s $25MM deal contained a vesting participant choice for the upcoming season. That was initially valued at $20MM and the veteran pushed that to $22.5MM by reaching 18 begins. He’s definitely not going to stroll away from that sum after this season, so he’ll no less than go into the offseason on the Arizona roster.
Montgomery’s 2024 marketing campaign was very underwhelming. He allowed a 6.23 earned run common by 117 innings whereas putting out a career-low 15.6% of batters confronted. Montgomery had an ERA above 5.00 in each month from Might onward. He misplaced his spot within the rotation late within the yr when Ryne Nelson outperformed him for the fifth starter job. Montgomery stepped again into the rotation with Nelson on the injured listing within the season’s closing couple weeks. He allowed three runs with out finishing 5 innings in both of his closing two begins — video games which Arizona dropped in Colorado and Milwaukee respectively.
Kendrick definitely isn’t alone in being annoyed with Montgomery’s efficiency. It’s nonetheless stunning to see an proprietor publicly name a free agent signing “a horrible resolution” whereas that participant continues to be on the staff.
Normal supervisor Mike Hazen performed his annual end-of-season press convention on Tuesday. As one would anticipate, the GM took a extra diplomatic tone when requested about Kendrick’s assertion. Hazen started by stating that because the chief of baseball operations, he’s “finally accountable to say no … or sure to a number of issues” (relayed on X by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports activities). The GM referred to as the Montgomery signing “a gaggle course of” earlier than stating that he expects higher ends in 2025. “No matter myriad of things went into this yr … it didn’t work out. It didn’t work out, however I additionally suppose subsequent yr goes to look so much completely different,” Hazen concluded.
The GM’s feedback are much more typical in these sorts of conditions. Even when the Montgomery signing was pushed by possession, Hazen isn’t more likely to take a public jab at Kendrick. One can debate how sincerely Hazen expects Montgomery to rebound, although it’s laborious to think about he gained’t enhance to some extent. Earlier than this season, the 6’6″ lefty had been one of many extra constant pitchers in MLB. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA with 30+ begins in every year from 2021-23. Montgomery’s late signing disadvantaged him of a standard Spring Coaching.
In August, Montgomery opined that former agent Scott Boras “sort of butchered” his free company. That’s presumably a reference each to the one-year assure that fell properly shy of expectations and his late touchdown within the desert. Montgomery modified his illustration inside weeks of signing with Arizona.
Kendrick’s feedback determine to additional hypothesis that the D-Backs might attempt to commerce Montgomery this offseason. That’d in all probability have a purpose for the entrance workplace in both case. They’re not going to seek out anybody prepared to tackle his whole wage, however the Snakes might attempt to discover an undesirable contract swap of some variety. Arizona goes into the offseason with a projected rotation of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nelson. That’s a proficient group on paper, however solely Gallen and Nelson carried out as much as expectations late within the yr. Pfaadt posted an ERA close to 6.00 after the All-Star Break, whereas Rodriguez and Kelly battled shoulder accidents and didn’t pitch at their typical stage in the course of the playoff push.
