Jordan Montgomery remains a free agent even as the MLB regular season has gotten underway in South Korea. But at least one team is talking with him.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported on Wednesday that the New York Yankees are back in contact with Montgomery.
Montgomery began his career with the Yankees. The AL East squad drafted him in 2014, and he made his MLB debut with them three years later. The southpaw pitched for the Yankees from 2017-2022 until he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Harrison Bader at the deadline. Montgomery dominated for the Cardinals for the rest of the 2022 season, and then they flipped him to Texas at the trade deadline in 2023. Montgomery helped pitch the Rangers to the World Series title.
For his career, Montgomery has gone 38-34 with a 3.68 ERA and 705 strikeouts in 755 innings pitched. He has gone 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA during his postseason career.
The Yankees apparently have some concerns about Montgomery and feel he doesn’t throw hard enough or miss enough bats. But they still like him overall and seem to have an interest in signing him, especially with ace Gerrit Cole set to miss time to begin the season.
The Yankees took a big swing this offseason by adding Juan Soto. They want to compete this year, and they recognize they need some pitching help. Maybe they can get it from Montgomery on a short-term deal.