Diamondbacks Owner: Jordan Montgomery’s $47.5M Contract Was a ‘Terrible Decision’ | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Montgomery was one of the worst pitchers in Major League Baseball this season, going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 25 appearances, including 21 starts.

The 31-year-old left-hander had the best season of his career in 2023, pitching with a 3.20 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 166 strikeouts over 188.2 innings between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers Scored 10-11.

Montgomery also appeared in six playoff games, including five starts, and went 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA as the Rangers won the first World Series in franchise history.

Despite his excellent performance, Monty surprisingly remained without a contract throughout the offseason. It wasn’t until two days before Opening Day at the end of March that he finally got a contract with the D-Backs.

Since Montgomery did not receive the benefit of spring training, he began the season in the minor leagues, posting a 10.57 ERA in two starts at Triple-A Reno before being called up to the big leagues.

After reaching the World Series last season, the Diamondbacks led the National League with 886 runs scored this season, but also gave up the third-most runs in the NL with 788.

As a result, Arizona finished with a record of 89-73 and missed out on a wild card spot due to a tiebreaker, while the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves took the final two wild card spots in the NL with a record of 89-73.

The Diamondbacks had a chance to clinch a playoff spot on Monday, but they needed either the Mets or the Braves to secure a win in a doubleheader. Instead, the Mets and Braves split, giving both a playoff spot.

Now the Diamondbacks are starting their offseason in disappointing fashion, and starting pitching has undoubtedly been their undoing.

Aside from star Zac Gallen, who posted a 3.65 ERA, no other Arizona pitcher who started 10 or more games had an ERA under 4.00 this season.

That suggests the Diamondbacks will need to make some significant changes to their rotation in the offseason, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to move on from Montgomery.

Since Montgomery made over 18 starts in 2024, he is eligible for a salary of $22.5 million in 2025. If Montgomery does so, it would potentially significantly limit Arizona’s options.

However, it’s possible that Montgomery could see a rebound in 2025 if he had the opportunity to have a proper spring training unlike this year.