Yankees might pay $100 million for a reunion with a player they released

admin | January 3, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

The New York Yankees are apparently looking to re-sign starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery after trading him away in the midst of the 2022 season — but it will likely cost the organization far more than they earned when they moved him away.

Montgomery has been linked to his former team in the latest free agency rumors as the Yankees want to boost their rotation this offseason and return to the playoffs in 2024.

“Montgomery could be an option for the Yankees, with whom he played until being traded to the Cardinals in 2022,” a report from MLB.com stated. “New York has internally discussed a reunion with Montgomery this offseason.”

However, such a reunion would almost certainly necessitate a large, long-term contract: ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel predicts Montgomery will seek a contract worth more than $100 million.

That could be a difficult pill to swallow, especially given the Yankees received nothing in return for trading Montgomery in the first place.

Jordan Montgomery Has Proven The New York Yankees Wrong

Montgomery was picked in the fourth round by the Yankees in 2014, and he made his debut three years later. He pitched for a decent 3.88 ERA across 155.1 innings as a 24-year-old rookie, but elbow issues limited him to just 17 starts over the next three seasons.

The Yankees transferred Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022, in the middle of a comeback season in which he struck out 158 hitters in 178.1 innings, in exchange for Harrison Bader, a center fielder who they waived the following season.

“They might have given up on me, but I think it was the best thing for me to get to the Cardinals,” Montgomery later told The Athletic.

Montgomery had a career-high 3.20 ERA in 32 starts in 2023. Montgomery won the World Series after being acquired by the Texas Rangers in exchange for four players. He won four crucial playoff games for his new team.

It’s reasonable to assume that the southpaw’s stock has grown since the Yankees released him, and if they want to bring him back, they’ll have to pay a lot more than they would have if they had invested in their draft pick sooner. Montgomery signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Yankees in March 2022, and the organization could almost definitely have kept him longer had they realized how he would end up reaching his potential in the years that followed.

At Least Six Other Teams in Contention to Sign Jordan Montgomery

Even if they are prepared to concede they were mistaken about Montgomery, the Yankees may face stiff competition in regaining his services.According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, and Baltimore Orioles are among the teams interested in signing the southpaw.

The Rangers, who were once considered the frontrunners to re-sign Montgomery, appear to be losing ground as they attempt to reach a financial agreement with their local television network brand.

“The Rangers made sense as a match for Montgomery, a key to beating the rival Astros in the ALCS, but their local TV issue may have put big expenditures on hold for now,” Jon Heyman, a reporter for the New York Post, said.