Red Sox Offered Star Hurler Multi-Year Contract But He 'Didn't Want To Go' To Boston

Boston almost added one of the marquee players of the last free-agent class

Scott Neville | Jul 6, 2024

Mar 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view of Fenway Park before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have started to really click over the last month with a 48-40 record and the third American League Wild Card spot in hand.

Winning has historically healed all, making the Red Sox's disappointing offseason more of a distant memory than a constant reminder of what should have been.

However, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was expected to deliver a big offseason with backing from ownership and that did not happen. One of the bigger targets was left-hander Jordan Montgomery -- who was heavily linked to Boston all winter.

As it turns out, the southpaw did not want to play for the Red Sox, who are coming off two last-place finishes in the AL East simply because ownership was content with failure.

"Montgomery could have signed a multi-year deal with Boston earlier and gone to spring training, but he didn’t want to go there and was holding out for a (Texas) Rangers return," the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Thursday.

Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA with a 166-to-48 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .247 batting average against and 1.19 WHIP in 188 2/3 innings between his time with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Rangers in 2023.

What has ensued since, will make Breslow feel great about his inability to lock down the lefty. He's posted a 6.44 ERA with a 1.68 WHIP for the Arizona Diamondbacks after settling for a one-year, $25 million contract that includes a vesting option for 2025.

While this specific instance might have been a fruitful mistake, it's important to note that some marquee players do not want to play in Boston thanks to a distracted ownership group. The allure of playing in a big market while calling Fenway Park home should be a massive advantage in free agency. Principal owner John Henry has found a way to turn it into a flaw.

For Montgomery, he'd be wise to keep all his options open. He's no longer deemed to highly-coveted frontline starter he once was.

More MLB: Red Sox Linked To Dodgers Two-Time All-Star Starter In Extremely Rare Type Of Trade

Published Jul 6, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu