Sad news: Jordan Montgomery’s non-signing with the Red Sox is in some ways making fans regret what they said.
Sad news: Jordan Montgomery’s non-signing with the Red Sox is in some ways making fans regret what they said.
The Boston Red Sox did not have the “full throttle” offseason that the front management had promised in November 2023, as is already widely known.
The Red Sox made very few noteworthy transactions and squandered numerous opportunities to sign elite free agents. Among Boston’s biggest misses were Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jorge Soler, Shōta Imanaga, and Teoscar Hernández. Jordan Montgomery was anticipated by many experts and fans to be the Sox’s big prize.
Surprisingly, they haven’t required him. It’s also quite hard to think that his current performance with the Arizona Diamondbacks would have made the starting rotation in Boston worse right now.
Montgomery has tossed 23 innings for Arizona, recording a 4.70 ERA and 4.74 FIP. He has given up three home runs, walked six, and struck out ten batters.
Additionally, the left-hander’s low rankings in a few crucial areas would have caused some issues for the Red Sox’s shaky defense. In comparison, Montgomery walks a lot of hitters while striking out few of them. Montgomery is ranked in the 49th percentile for ground ball % and the second percentile for strikeout percentage according to Baseball Savant.
In terms of average exit velocity, Montgomery is likewise in the 58th percentile. The Red Sox defense has historically struggled against infield grounders, and if Montgomery had pitched in any of those games during their error-filled early April run, it’s possible that things would have gotten even worse.
Jordan Montgomery would have made the starting rotation of the Red Sox worse.
Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are the only Red Sox starting pitchers who have been healthy the entire season; Montgomery hasn’t tossed as many innings in their place. The early returns would have angered Boston supporters, but the 31-year-old still has plenty of season remaining to even out his numbers and justify his lengthy stay in free agency.
Montgomery’s early performance would have boosted Boston’s starting pitchers’ cumulative ERA to 2.75. If Montgomery had signed with Boston rather than Arizona, there’s no knowing how a few sessions with pitching coach Andrew Bailey may have changed his results, but the front staff wasn’t willing to take that chance. Perhaps they were unwilling to part with their outrageous demands.
Montgomery said that he preferred to play for a winning team and had no desire to sign with Boston. Upon joining the Diamondbacks, he found himself on a losing team and with a higher ERA than any Red Sox starter. I didn’t anticipate that.
