SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said Wednesday he's met with left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery in an effort to move past team owner Ken Kendrick's harsh public criticism after the season.
It remains to be seen whether the 31-year-old Montgomery will be part of the club in 2025, though Hazen is open to the possibility.
Just after opening day, Montgomery signed a $25 million, one-year that included a 2025 player option. But he failed to deliver on the high price tag, finishing with a 6.23 ERA over 21 starts and 117 innings. He was eventually demoted to the bullpen, where he made four appearances.
Montgomery exercised his $22.5 million option to stay with the D-backs earlier this week.
“I will say that he was extremely accountable to the season he had, and I respect that,” Hazen said at the general managers meetings. “I tried to be accountable toward some of the areas we could have maybe helped him a little better. The dynamic was the dynamic, it is what it is.”
Montgomery's struggles were part of the reason the D-backs just missed the playoffs after making it to the World Series in 2023. Arizona finished in a three-way tie with the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets for the final two National League wild cards, but missed out on October because the Braves and Mets both won the regular-season series over the D-backs.
Kendrick took responsibility for Montgomery's signing during a radio interview with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM after the season, saying it was his suggestion.
“Looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed as poorly as he did,” Kendrick said. "It’s our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint. And I’m the perpetrator of that.”
Arizona could have six experienced starters going into spring training, including Montgomery, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson.
“I feel like we're in a strong position from a starting pitching standpoint,” Hazen said. “I'd like to stay there, but we'll see what happens as we go through the offseason.”
Hazen did say other clubs were inquiring about the availability of several Arizona pitchers.
“We're talking to teams about starting pitchers because of the fact that we have six,” Hazen said. “So teams are coming at us for players — starting pitchers specifically.”
Montgomery had a long track record as a successful big league starter before last year's meltdown. He has a 46-41 career record with a 4.03 ERA over eight seasons.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
David Brandt, The Associated Press
