The Arizona Diamondbacks have moved Jordan Montgomery to the bullpen as the veteran left-hander continues to struggle in his first season with the team.
Montgomery, one of baseball’s top free agents this offseason, only signed with the Diamondbacks in late March and eventually landed a one-year, $25 million contract that includes an option to be purchased through 2025.
His agent at the time, Scott Boras, negotiated several similar short-term contracts for his best free agents towards the end of the season.
Montgomery ultimately released Boras shortly after he signed with Arizona and expressed his displeasure with the way things were handled on Friday before Arizona faced the Boston Red Sox, one of the teams interested in signing him.
“I had a Zoom call with (the Red Sox), that’s really all I know. It went well,” Montgomery told the Boston Herald. “I don’t know, obviously Boras kind of messed it up, so I’m just trying to put the offseason behind me and forget about it.”
Because of the late signing, Montgomery did not participate in formal spring training and did not make his first appearance for Arizona until April 19. This season, he has a 6.44 ERA in 19 appearances.
Manager Torey Lovullo called the decision to move Montgomery to the bullpen “agonizing,” but it made sense given Ryne Nelson’s recent streak of strong performances, which continued Friday night when he allowed just two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts in a 12-2 win over the Red Sox.
Montgomery was primarily a starter in his eight major league seasons.
Since he has already started 19 times this season, the 2025 option in his contract was guaranteed at $22.5 million, according to the details of his contract announced at the time of his signing. If he starts 23 times, that amount rises to $25 million.
“We’ve got 30 games left,” general manager Mike Hazen told reporters, according to the Arizona Republic. “We’re trying to win every single game. I pushed Torey every night to make the best decisions for the team so we have a chance to win. Period. I don’t care about anything else. I told him, ‘We’re going to handle whatever we have to.'”
