BREAKING NEWS: Yankees GM Brian Cashman Set bring back Jordan Montgomery

TAMPA: There isn’t one source that aggregates the amount of money that teams are ready to spend to lessen their desperation to start pitching.

Rather, we may acquire intelligence and combine it with common sense, just like teams do, and begin here: the regular season has already began for two South Korean clubs and will begin for all others on Thursday. Jordan Montgomery, though, was still jobless. At thirty-one, he is not the kind of person who is prepared to go on a yearlong Buddhist retreat to ponder the meaning of life.

Thus, it is reasonable to expect that in 2024 he will be a major league baseball player. Where is still a mystery? For what price, too?

During the winter, Montgomery, via his agent Scott Boras, was attempting to get a price comparable to the $172 million, seven-year contract that Aaron Nola and the Phillies signed. However, there came a point during the summer when Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, and Blake Snell, three other significant Boras clients, were asking for far more than the two- or three-year deals they had recently signed, which had opt-out clauses after every season. Can we thus presume that Montgomery’s price is also dropping sharply?
It was also believed that Montgomery would have chosen to go back to Texas, where he played a key role in winning the World Series the previous season. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the amount they would receive from their insolvent regional sports network, the Rangers have been fiscally cautious. Furthermore, the possibility of reconsideration vanished on Wednesday when Texas reached a $4.5 million deal with Michael Lorenzen to help them survive until Tyler Mahle, Max Scherzer, and the surgically repaired Jacob deGrom could perhaps return to the rotation in a few months.

It was also believed that Montgomery had little interest in a return with the Yankees, still hurt by his July 2022 sale to St. Louis, where he was shipped off with the caveat that the team that had drafted him did not consider him good enough to be in its postseason rotation.
However, at this late hour, how much choice does Montgomery have to be exclusive? In the last 24 hours, I have asked three executives to use the whole chessboard to select a location that may still provide Montgomery with a sizable multiyear lease, and, well… The Twins may realize they can significantly increase their chances of winning the AL Central, the perplexing Red Sox may lose their resolve, or the Astros’ chronic rotation issues may be the cause. However, there was nothing firmly stated.

Rather, the officials would not stop saying that, should the price drop, perhaps six or more clubs have different jump-in points. To defeat the Yankees in Montgomery, I believe that some team will be more resilient; perhaps the Mets are among them.
Additionally, I believe that excellent teams can win without resorting to financial solutions for every issue, especially during this time of year. However, given the sudden uncertainty surrounding Gerrit Cole combined with the frailties of Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, and Marcus Stroman, is it really so unlikely that the Yankees will need to add a starter between now and July 30 that there is inventory as good as Montgomery still on the shelf?
Hal Steinbrenner has been hesitant to increase payroll since every dollar is subject to a 110 percent tax. For instance, the Yanks are looking for a more capable utility infield alternative than Kevin Smith, but they didn’t think Santiago Espinal, who was moved from Toronto to Cincinnati on Wednesday, was a significant enough improvement to shoulder both his $2.725 million salary and an additional almost $3 million in taxes.

Montgomery has drawn comparisons to Eduardo Rodriguez, who got a four-year contract with Arizona for $80 million, primarily because he is not a big swing-and-miss pitcher. The Yankees would have to pay Montgomery $42 million this year in salary and taxes, even if he completed the pact. Montgomery might agree to postpone funding in order to save expenses, perhaps in return for an opt-out following Years 2 and 3.

Recall that every team values prospects in terms of future cash, so acquiring a guy in July requires more than just paying him. Montgomery is currently only worth money since, in contrast to Snell, he was not eligible for the qualifying offer. In order to sign him, the Yanks would not additionally have to give up their second and fifth round picks in addition to $1 million in international signing bonus money.

Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the Yanks will prevail in a competition for their preferred starting date in July. In 2022, they acquired Frankie Montas instead of Luis Castillo in that most recent instance. They could avoid worrying about whether they can win the July prospect auction and get a few more months out of Montgomery before the trade deadline.
Reiterating what the Yanks were concerned about with Snell, don’t discount Montgomery’s ability to handle October and New York. Although Montgomery is a No. 3 starter by profile, he has the ability to rise in crucial situations regardless of the month or surroundings, much like his championship partner Nathan Eovaldi.

The Yankees should push a bit toward discomfort to see if they can sign Montgomery, though the public is unaware of what it would cost.