Should Orioles Entertain Trading for World Series Hero to Bolster Rotation?

The Arizona Diamondbacks have added new details to a potential Jordan Montgomery trade. Should the Baltimore Orioles be interested?

Jeremy Trottier | Mar 25, 2025

Aug 27, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jordan Montgomery against the New York Mets at Chase Field. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are heading into the 2025 season with a rather intriguing mix of starting pitchers, and when it comes to their rotation, it is the oldest in the MLB. After losing out on their 2024 ace Corbin Burnes to the Arizona Diamondbacks, could they consider trading with the same team to fill a need?

There have been widespread rumors and indications that the Diamondbacks could consider moving off of Jordan Montgomery if they could manage to get a solid deal in return. This is a tough decision to make for other teams, as he has shown a strong level of dominance before, but his 2024 season and 2025 spring training may turn teams away.

The most recent update regarding a Montgomery trade comes from Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, who would say, "The Diamondbacks have asked at least one interested team to take on $13 million of Montgomery’s salary."

So now not only is a team going to have to take on the risk of having Montgomery after an above six ERA season, they have to assume $13 million of his salary. That is a ton of risk to take on for any team, but also, if he pans out similar to his 2022 to 2023 form, maybe it is worth consideration.

Ultimately, this seems more like something the Orioles would specifically consider closer to the trade deadline, if they have an injury pop up or if they are struggling to pitch effectively. The difficulty would be if he does end up panning out, other teams will end up calling and trying to see what value Arizona wants in return.

Last season was not kind to the veteran, which would make trading for him difficult this early on. He had a 6.23 ERA, 1.650 WHIP, 83 strikeouts to 44 walks, and allowed 14 home runs in 117 innings.

He has never really been a flamethrower at any point, but between 2023 and 2024, he went from the 38th percentile to the 18th percentile in fastball velocity according to Baseball Savant. Additionally, he saw substantial decreases in horizontal and vertical break in many of his pitches.

These types of decreases in not only statistical values but actual measurable values in regard to each pitch type is concerning at best. While it may be tempting to say Baltimore needs pitching no matter what, giving up assets on top of a substantial chunk of cash to take on that risk seems like bad business at the moment.

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