I would really like to know the reason of the people who voted four, for a pitcher who didn’t take the mound a single time all year. I guess I’d like to thank his mother, wife and brother for popping into the SnakePit. Because Jordan did set a new franchise record this year. The $22.5 million he received was, I believe, the highest amount ever paid by the Diamondbacks for someone who did not play for the team during the season in question. The previous record-holder was Yasmany Tomas, who received $13.5 million for his absence in 2018. He would have broken his own record in 2020, being due $17 million. I guess something good came out of COVID?
To be fair, there is a difference here which does matter, and may factor into those “4” votes. Unlike Tomas, it wasn’t simply that the team did not want Montgomery to play because he sucked. He couldn’t play, due to injury, and that certainly deserves some sympathy. On the other hand, you could argue there’s no solid reason to expect a healthy Montgomery would have been any better than in 2024, when he earned $25 million, posted a 6.23 ERA and was so bad over 21 starts, he ended up being dumped to mop-up work in the bullpen. With the team missing out on the post-season by a single game… Yeah, you can understand him not exactly being a fan favorite.