Texas Rangers rumors: Jordan Montgomery is returning to Arlington on a one year deal for $1.25 million plus incentive bonuses, per Evan Grant. Montgomery, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, would presumably immediately go on the 60 day injured list.
Montgomery, of course, was one of the heroes of the 2023 World Series team. Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, along with Chris Stratton, in exchange for Tekoah Roby, Thomas Saggese and John King, Montgomery put up a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts post-trade and a 2.90 ERA in 6 post-season appearances, including pitching in relief in the Rangers’ Game 7 ALCS clincher.
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Montgomery hit the free agent market after 2023 expecting to cash in, but ended up finding the market for his services much softer than expected. He ended up signing a one year, $25 million deal with the D-Backs with a $20 million player option right before Opening Day, and fired his agent, Scott Boras, two weeks later. Montgomery put up a 6.23 ERA in 21 starts and four relief appearances in 2024, then missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, which he underwent at the end of March, 2025.
In the comments recently, I dismissed a suggestion that the Rangers could/should bring back Montgomery, noting that he would probably not be ready to return to the majors until close to the All Star Break, and that his timeline being about a month behind Cody Bradford made him not that attractive an option. I have now been proven wrong, as we are reminded that Chris Young never believes you can have enough starting pitching, and at just $1.25 million guaranteed, the price is obviously right.
One of the things we have talked about is how much turnover there has been from the 2023 team, and how many contributors to that club aren’t here anymore. Bringing back Montgomery, who is up there with Cliff Lee as one of the best trade deadline additions the Rangers have ever made, goes in the other direction, and there’s definitely a quality vibes element to this move, however it may work out. Now maybe they will bring back Mitch Garver to platoon at DH with Joc Pederson.
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