Former South Carolina left-handed pitcher and MLB veteran Jordan Montgomery has signed with the Texas Rangers, according to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. The deal is a one-year pact worth $1.2 million, and Montgomery can add up to $1.75 million with bonuses.
The 33-year-old returns to the team with which he won a World Series in 2023. After pitching 31 innings to a 2.90 ERA during the Rangers’ postseason run, Montgomery hit the open market for the first time in his career as a Scott Boras Corporation client.
Montgomery signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks a day after Opening Day in 2024. After a grueling offseason and not having a true spring training with an organization, Montgomery was optioned to Triple-A Reno to begin the year.
The Sumter, S.C., native made his Diamondbacks debut on April 19 of that year, pitching six innings and allowing one run in a win. Montgomery would go on to allow a 6.23 ERA across 117 innings, the worst mark of his career.
Montgomery exercised his player option after the disastrous season, but he wouldn’t get the chance to make up for it. The southpaw was diagnosed with a torn UCL less than a week before Opening Day of this past season, setting him up for his second Tommy John surgery and ending his season. Now, Montgomery will look to bounce back with some familiar friends.
Montgomery was a fourth-round selection by the New York Yankees in the 2014 MLB Draft after pitching for the Gamecocks from 2011-2014. In his final season in Columbia, Montgomery went 8-5 with a 3.42 earned run average in 100 innings pitched. Montgomery pitched to a career 2.88 earned run average in 44 collegiate appearances, with 42 starts.
The Yankees gave Montgomery the call for his MLB debut in 2017. He made 29 starts to a 3.88 earned run average as a rookie before losing much of the next two seasons to injury. Montgomery underwent his first Tommy John surgery and missed the majority of 2019.
Montgomery spent the next several seasons off the injured list for a significant time. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2022 trade deadline. He made 32 starts across two half-seasons before getting dealt to the Rangers in 2023 and hoisting the World Series trophy.
The Rangers will hope to bring back that healthy form of Montgomery, though the injury risks are blatant. Regardless, Texas employs a strong rotation when healthy, headlined by Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. Montgomery is expected to return sometime around the MLB All-Star break.