Phillies Pitching Target Agrees To Deal With Defending NL Champion

The Philadelphia Phillies will see Jordan Montgomery this season, but it won’t be in their uniform as he agrees to a deal with another NL team.

Oct 28, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (52) throws a / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The long wait is finally over for pitcher Jordan Montgomery, as he has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, per ESPN.

Terms were not disclosed and the deal was pending a physical.

The contract brings a long end to Montgomery’s free agency, which brought him and his agent to the  Philadelphia Phillies at one point.

The Phillies had some interest in Montgomery at one point, but after handing out big money to both Aaron Nola as a free agent and to Zack Wheeler in the form of a three-year contract extension, even a one-year deal with options may have been too much for Philadelphia.

Montgomery was one of Scott Boras’ clients and all of his top free agents had to wait until well into the offseason to get a deal, including Chicago Cubs slugger Scott Boras, San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman and pitcher Blake Snell.

Montgomery was the last of the group to wait for what he hoped would be a long-term, big money contract. It’s not clear what Montgomery ended up with.

Montgomery is a seven-year veteran who broke in with the New York Yankees in 2017 and spent most of his career in the Bronx before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022.

He started 2023 with St. Louis and was traded to the Texas Rangers, who ended up winning their first World Series title at the expense of the Diamondbacks.

Montgomery is coming off a 2023 in which he had his best overall season, as he went 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA with a 166 strikeouts and 48 walks. With the Rangers he went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA.

He shined in the postseason, as he went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA. He won two of his five starts in the postseason and claimed the win in relief in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.