In the late weeks of the offseason, there hadn't been a ton of movement in Jordan Montgomery's market. The rest of Scott Boras' high-profile clients have signed already, leaving Montgomery waiting in the wings for a team willing to meet his price.
Blake Snell signed for just two years and $62 million after months of waiting for a huge contract. JD Martinez and Matt Chapman found their 2024 homes as well, however not for as much money as they had hoped. New rumors about Montgomery's market suggest he may get luckier than the rest.
According to MLB insider Jim Bowden, Montgomery has two long-term offers on the table from different clubs.
Fans might think that the Red Sox would be one of them. Experts have said for months that Montgomery makes the most sense for Boston, and with so little security in the starting rotation at the moment, the Red Sox desperately need someone to eat innings.
Renewed interest in Jordan Montgomery is bad for the stingy Red Sox
But Bowden's verbiage doesn't bode well for Boston. He said the "Red Sox, Yankees are still involved to some degree," which likely means that the two AL East rivals do not have the two long-term offers on the table. We'd also venture to say the Yankees would have the edge there, too.
There are a lot of other teams with somewhat similar desperation for pitching as the Red Sox. The Yankees will be without ace Gerrit Cole for the first few months of the season, Justin Verlander is battling shoulder injuries for the Astros, and same goes for Taijuan Walker and the Phillies.
Jordan Montgomery reportedly has two "long-term" offers on the table from unknown teams, and the #Phillies also have some (limited) level of interest: https://t.co/i7mYEyz0bC pic.twitter.com/lDZZardE6M
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) March 25, 2024
Philadelphia spent a lot of money on pitching this winter after it locked up Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler on long-term deals. Jumping to sign Montgomery and meet his price after the injury to Walker doesn't seem too likely.
The Astros missed out on signing Snell after he went to the Giants just last week, so they may be willing to pivot to the other expensive option remaining on the market.
The Red Sox haven't won any spending competitions this offseason. The renewed interest in Montgomery from other clubs isn't a promising sign for Boston fans, and the Sox's signing of Chase Anderson doesn't help matters either. Adding recently cut, fringe-starters for pitching staff depth doesn't sound like a team willing to spend a lot of money to get better.
With all the new teams in the mix for Montgomery, the Red Sox are destined to be out-bid, which may be exactly what they wanted. Just stop mentioning them in the rumors, please.