Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Player Review: Jordan Montgomery

One of the D-backs' biggest signings quickly turned disastrous.

Sep 17, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (52) leaves the mound in the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

This article is part of a series chronicling the individual seasons of players that appeared for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Reviews for players that still have rookie eligibility for 2025 will appear in our prospect season reviews. Players are presented in the reverse order of their aWAR, an average of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs WAR.

LHP Jordan Montgomery

2024 Contract status: One year, $25 million with a vesting player option for 2025 up to $25 million depending on number of starts made

Jordan Montgomery 2024 and career stats / Alex D'Agostino | Diamondbacks On SI

The Diamondbacks needed rotation help ahead of 2024 - especially from a proven veteran. After their marquee signing of Eduardo Rodriguez went down with an injury in Spring Training, the D-backs signed the veteran Montgomery to a one-year, $25 million deal, complete with a vesting player option for 2025.

Montgomery had come off one of his better seasons, pitching to a 3.20 ERA and 3.56 FIP with the Cardinals and Rangers, on the way to a World Series ring.

Montgomery's free agency process continued to drag out, as infamous agent Scott Boras appeared to be looking for bigger, longer deals. The big left-hander eventually inked his deal with Arizona on March 29.

Since Montgomery missed all of Spring Training, he wouldn't make his first start until April 19. After a few starts in the minors to ramp up, he delivered six innings of one-run baseball against the Giants in San Francisco in his first start as a D-back.

For the first handful of starts, it looked like Arizona was getting who they had hoped. A six-run blowup against the World Series favorite Los Angeles Dodgers appeared to be a small hiccup in a season's worth of solid starts.

Outside that start against LA, Montgomery consistently went six innings or more, delivering four Quality Starts through May. But the wheels began to fall off after a four-inning disaster of a start against the Mets on May 31.

He made a handful of solid starts after that, but his ERA had ballooned up above 6.00 - no longer in a small sample size. He was lit up against the Giants and Twins, as he went on to surrender 20 runs (18 earned) over 21.1 innings in June.

After the seven-run debacle in Minnesota, Montgomery landed on the Injured List with right knee inflammation, costing him about a month. His return start saw five innings of one-run ball, but he quickly returned to poor form with a six-run outing against the Nationals.

From there, he hovered above the 6.00 ERA mark. Solid starts were followed by poor ones. On August 23, the decision was made to move him to the bullpen. He made his first relief appearance against the Mets, going 4.1 innings in a 8-3 loss. He allowed five hits but no runs.

But he never had time to settle into his bullpen role. He gave up seven runs over 5.2 innings of relief his next two times out, but was quickly forced to return to the rotation after an injury to right-hander Ryne Nelson.

He started two games to close out the year, going 4.2 and 4.1 innings respectively, both times giving up six hits and three runs, and ending a disappointing season on a lackluster note.

So, what went wrong for the veteran?

The answer may just as well be "everything." A painful, drawn-out free agency process, a clear blow to his confidence, fatigue, velocity, location. His primary fastball (sinker) saw a nearly 2 MPH decrease in velocity.

He averaged 91.8 MPH on the pitch in 2024, and both his command and movement also saw a drop. Leaving pitches in the heart of the zone came back to haunt him frequently. Granted, his 4.48 FIP suggests he was also somewhat a victim of poor luck and defense, but ultimately, he failed to deliver the way he had throughout his eight-year career.

Ultimately, the season went about as poorly as it could have for Montgomery. Inconsistency, inefficiency and overall underperformance marred his 2024 campaign.

2025 Outlook

Montgomery's status for 2025 is a complicated one. His player option vested at 10 starts, and reached $22.5 million at 18 starts. It seems likely that he'll pick it up to secure a big paycheck for next year.

There's a chance he chooses to decline his option and seek a fresh start, especially after parting with Boras, but it's highly unlikely he'd make anywhere near that amount elsewhere.

With that said, the D-backs might not want to spend such a high amount on a pitcher who gave them little chance to win games. Of course, there's always a chance that with a full offseason, and an entirely new pitching coach staff that Montgomery could see a return to form, or at least a return to a more league-average starter.

Rumors have begun to swirl about a potential trade. While that is not completely out of the question, it's quite unlikely that a team would be willing to take on Montgomery's salary.

Managing partner Ken Kendrick took responsibility for the poor signing on Arizona Sports 98.7's Burns and Gambo, saying that he pushed for general manager Mike Hazen to get the deal done. Hazen, of course, also took responsibility, saying the decision was ultimately his to make.

So what will the D-backs do with Montgomery in 2025? For now, it's a possibility he remains on the roster and pitches for Arizona next season. But, as was evidenced by the Madison Bumgarner situation in 2023, the D-backs are not afraid to cut dead weight, even when it's expensive to do so.

Montgomery could have an opportunity to prove he can be the pitcher the D-backs signed. If he does so, that will benefit all parties. If not, there could be a much shorter leash for him in 2025.