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In awarding right-hander Brandon Pfaadt the final rotation spot, the Diamondbacks made what feels like the correct decision — one they almost had to make coming off last year — even if it might have been a difficult one.
No team wants to do what they have done with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who was pushed into a bullpen role on Sunday. Montgomery is owed $22.5 million this season, the second-highest salary of anyone on the roster, and yet he will be opening the year in a long relief role.
But for a team that missed the postseason by just one game last year, the Diamondbacks could hardly justify rolling the dice with Montgomery in the rotation. Not after his miserable 2024 season. And not after a spring that hasn’t exactly been dominant, either.
That is not to say Pfaadt is guaranteed to pitch better, but he is coming off the better season and enjoyed a more impressive spring, both by posting solid results and exhibiting his usual caliber of stuff in terms of velocity and movement.
If you had to bet on one of them, at least right now, it doesn’t feel like a particularly tough call. The same is true of right-hander Ryne Nelson, who might have been the club’s best starter for the final few months of the season and is also getting pushed into a relief role.
Manager Torey Lovullo acknowledged that the Diamondbacks’ disappointing end to last season — they finished with 89 wins, one shy of a wild-card spot — resonated with him as they were making roster decisions.
“Of course, of course,” Lovullo said. “Every play that we run, every little inch we're trying to win on the field, absolutely has a strategy to it, because we don't want to miss any chances to win one more baseball game.”
The Diamondbacks were looking to trade Montgomery all offseason — and they have continued to discuss him with rival clubs in recent days. General manager Mike Hazen confirmed as much last week, saying he has been fielding calls about his team’s rotation depth.
According to a source, the Diamondbacks have asked at least one interested team to take on $13 million of Montgomery’s salary. That is a relatively high ask, and it suggests the Diamondbacks still have high expectations for him.
Lovullo voiced some of that optimism on Sunday, saying pitching coach Brian Kaplan is convinced Montgomery is still rounding into form after being slowed early in spring by a finger injury.
“I think you guys haven’t seen the best of Monty,” Lovullo said. “That’s my gut feel. I’m watching every bullpen. I’m watching all the things that he’s doing. He’s working his butt off.”
Montgomery has made three outings this spring and has shown improvement in each. After getting hit hard in an outing in Goodyear, he threw well on the backfields, then threw well again against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields on Wednesday.
The Diamondbacks could have given Montgomery first crack in the rotation. They could have hoped Kaplan was right and that after a few starts Montgomery would have been able to rebuild his trade value. It would have been risky, but they could have argued it was the smarter long-term move for the organization, a chance at a clearer route to saving a significant amount of money — and maybe even getting a decent return, too.
Or they could have given Montgomery the ball just because they felt they needed to try to get more out of him to justify his salary.
Either way, the logic would have been, in a way, understandable — but it also would have been hard to justify after last season.
That one win the Diamondbacks needed last year — they could have secured it at any point in the season, not just in the infamous September loss in Milwaukee, in which they blew an 8-0 lead.
In what looks like it could be a crowded National League playoff race, the Diamondbacks couldn’t risk that one costly loss coming in April with Montgomery on the mound. Not when Pfaadt looks like the stronger option.
Opening Day will mark the one-year mark of the Diamondbacks and Montgomery striking a deal. It is a contract that looks like a costly mistake for the team. But at least the Diamondbacks aren’t letting one mistake lead to another.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: With Jordan Montgomery, DBacks don’t let one mistake lead to another
Continue reading...
No team wants to do what they have done with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who was pushed into a bullpen role on Sunday. Montgomery is owed $22.5 million this season, the second-highest salary of anyone on the roster, and yet he will be opening the year in a long relief role.
But for a team that missed the postseason by just one game last year, the Diamondbacks could hardly justify rolling the dice with Montgomery in the rotation. Not after his miserable 2024 season. And not after a spring that hasn’t exactly been dominant, either.
That is not to say Pfaadt is guaranteed to pitch better, but he is coming off the better season and enjoyed a more impressive spring, both by posting solid results and exhibiting his usual caliber of stuff in terms of velocity and movement.
If you had to bet on one of them, at least right now, it doesn’t feel like a particularly tough call. The same is true of right-hander Ryne Nelson, who might have been the club’s best starter for the final few months of the season and is also getting pushed into a relief role.
Manager Torey Lovullo acknowledged that the Diamondbacks’ disappointing end to last season — they finished with 89 wins, one shy of a wild-card spot — resonated with him as they were making roster decisions.
“Of course, of course,” Lovullo said. “Every play that we run, every little inch we're trying to win on the field, absolutely has a strategy to it, because we don't want to miss any chances to win one more baseball game.”
The Diamondbacks were looking to trade Montgomery all offseason — and they have continued to discuss him with rival clubs in recent days. General manager Mike Hazen confirmed as much last week, saying he has been fielding calls about his team’s rotation depth.
According to a source, the Diamondbacks have asked at least one interested team to take on $13 million of Montgomery’s salary. That is a relatively high ask, and it suggests the Diamondbacks still have high expectations for him.
Lovullo voiced some of that optimism on Sunday, saying pitching coach Brian Kaplan is convinced Montgomery is still rounding into form after being slowed early in spring by a finger injury.
“I think you guys haven’t seen the best of Monty,” Lovullo said. “That’s my gut feel. I’m watching every bullpen. I’m watching all the things that he’s doing. He’s working his butt off.”
Montgomery has made three outings this spring and has shown improvement in each. After getting hit hard in an outing in Goodyear, he threw well on the backfields, then threw well again against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields on Wednesday.
The Diamondbacks could have given Montgomery first crack in the rotation. They could have hoped Kaplan was right and that after a few starts Montgomery would have been able to rebuild his trade value. It would have been risky, but they could have argued it was the smarter long-term move for the organization, a chance at a clearer route to saving a significant amount of money — and maybe even getting a decent return, too.
Or they could have given Montgomery the ball just because they felt they needed to try to get more out of him to justify his salary.
Either way, the logic would have been, in a way, understandable — but it also would have been hard to justify after last season.
That one win the Diamondbacks needed last year — they could have secured it at any point in the season, not just in the infamous September loss in Milwaukee, in which they blew an 8-0 lead.
In what looks like it could be a crowded National League playoff race, the Diamondbacks couldn’t risk that one costly loss coming in April with Montgomery on the mound. Not when Pfaadt looks like the stronger option.
Opening Day will mark the one-year mark of the Diamondbacks and Montgomery striking a deal. It is a contract that looks like a costly mistake for the team. But at least the Diamondbacks aren’t letting one mistake lead to another.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: With Jordan Montgomery, DBacks don’t let one mistake lead to another
Continue reading...
