The MLB season is approaching the end with the ALCS and NLCS starting up this week. A team that had a shot at making the playoffs after their monumental run last season was the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks needed to replace the production that Eduardo Rodriguez could have given before his injury during spring training and they signed veteran pitcher Jordan Montgomery to their rotation. Here’s a look at Montgomery’s 2024 season.
A look at Jordan Montgomery’s 2024 season
The beginning of the season
Mongomery’s free agency dragged out until nearly the end of spring training when he signed a one-year, $25 million deal with Arizona on March 29. He missed spring training, which forced Montgomery to start the season in the minors to get back up to major league form. This pushed his first start for the Snakes at the major league level until April 19. His first couple of starts saw him back to why Arizona signed him, which was because of his performance for the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers. Even after a tough outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 1, where the World Series favorites drove in six runs against Montgomery, he continued his great start in the next few games he pitched in.
Heading in the wrong direction, leading to a disappointing season
By the end of May and into the beginning of June, Montgomery’s performances started to head in the wrong direction. After allowing six runs in his first start in June against the San Francisco Giants, Montgomery’s ERA had imploded to 6.8. His bad play continued throughout the month, ending against the Minnesota Twins, who drove in seven runs against him. That was Mongomery’s final start for nearly a month after landing on the Injured List after he began suffering from right knee inflammation. He returned in a start against the Kansas City Royals, throwing five innings and allowing only one run, but the poor play returned against the Washington Nationals, where Montgomery allowed nine hits, leading to six runs being scored in only four innings pitched.
He only had one more win after his return against the Royals, which came against the Colorado Rockies on August 14, where Montgomery pitched six innings, allowing five hits and three runs in an 11-4 win. For the remainder of the season, he wasn’t able to get his ERA down below six and couldn’t find any success like he did earlier on in the season.
Final season stats
After an overall good season in 2023, where Montgomery finished with an ERA of 3.20 in 188.2 innings pitched, 2024 was not a great season for 31-year-olds. He finished with an 8-7 record, allowing 149 hits in 117 innings with an elevated 6.23 ERA. Montgomery’s WHIP (Walks and Hits per inning pitch) elevated to 1.65, which reflects his pitching inconsistencies in 2024. According to FanGraphs, his WAR dropped from 4.6 in 2023 to 0.6 in 2024, which is a major drop. His total number of strikeouts dropped as well from 166 to 83.
Where does he go next?
His contract involves a player option that will allow Montgomery to bank $22.5 million next season, so there is a decent chance that he will pick up his option. However, there is a chance that he will look elsewhere during free agency to get a fresh start. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Montgomery could do with a full offseason with a new pitching staff. If he stays with Arizona, Montgomery could go back to what he was able to do in St Louis and Texas in 2023 and give the Diamondbacks what they hoped when they signed him last offseason. However, if he doesn’t revert to that, Arizona might look to either trade him or move on from him.
Main Image: © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
