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The Arizona Diamondbacks and starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery have had quite the rocky relationship in a short time together. In the wake of Montgomery’s struggles this past season, owner Ken Kendrick said that signing the veteran pitcher ahead of the 2024 season to a one-year, $25 million deal—with a $22.5 million player option for the 2025 campaign—was a mistake.
“Looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed as poorly as he did,” he said during an interview on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM after the season. “It’s our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint. And I’m the perpetrator of that.”
If those comments were meant to sour the relationship to the point that Montgomery chose to opt out, the ploy didn’t work, as Montgomery exercised his option earlier in the week. On Wednesday, general manager Mike Hazen spoke to reporters regarding the situation.
“I will say that he was extremely accountable to the season he had, and I respect that,” he said of Montgomery. “I tried to be accountable toward some of the areas we could have maybe helped him a little better. The dynamic was the dynamic, it is what it is.”
The Diamondbacks could always look to trade Montgomery, with other starting pitching options like Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson. But Montgomery’s contract, paired with a 6.23 ERA in 2024 across 21 starts (25 total appearances), could make that a difficult deal to pull off.
It is, of course, possible that Montgomery will revert back to the very solid starter he was between the 2021-23 campaign and the angst of the offseason will fade. It is very rare that a team owner publicly bashes his own player that vociferously, however, and a change of scenery might be the best scenario for all involved.
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