Jordan

Montgomery

This was nothing more than a salary dump for the Diamondbacks, as the 32-year-old southpaw has undergone Tommy John surgery and will not pitch during the 2025 season before hitting free agency. Perhaps they just want to put in a good word and show him around the facility before he hits the open market,.

No word yet on the return. Miller is currently on the injured list with a strained forearm, but he has begun throwing and could return soon. He will work in high-leverage innings for the Brewers, likely as part of the bridge to Trevor Megill. Jordan Montgomery is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and is a free agent at the end of this season, so this feels like a salary dump that may have helped get a better return. We will have to see.

It’s merely a procedural move as Montgomery is set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. The 32-year-old southpaw will likely miss a significant portion of the 2026 season as well. He’ll be a free agent at the conclusion of the year.

A brutal offseason for Montgomery just gets worse. The 32-year-old signed late in the off-season last year and struggled in his first year in Arizona, pitching to a 6.23 ERA in 117 innings between the bullpen and the rotation. He pitched poorly this spring and had been the subject of trade rumors, but was set to serve as the long reliever in Arizona to start the season. It appears that Ryne Nelson will now have a chance to take that role and act as the sixth starter for the Diamondbacks’ rotation. Montgomery will miss the entire 2025 season and could return over the summer in 2026. However, he will be a free agent this offseason, so where he ends up is anybody’s guess.

Pfaadt had to have the highest ADP of any starting pitcher that wasn’t guaranteed a rotation spot this draft season, but ultimately he won a job. Jordan Montgomery and Ryne Nelson are going to the bullpen. Pfaadt finished spring training with a 3.18 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 13/2 K/BB ratio in 11 1/3 innings.

Montgomery, 32, is coming off a disastrous first — and potentially only — season with the Diamondbacks, but the left-hander has had plenty of success in this league, so it’s not a huge surprise there’s trade interest. Arizona would likely have to eat salary in a potential deal, but since there’s a good chance he won’t be in the rotation to begin the season, there’ll likely be motivation from the D-Backs to make something happen.

Montgomery scattered three hits and only issued one walk. The 32-year-old veteran left-hander appears to be auditioning for other teams at this juncture of spring training since there isn’t a path to a rotation spot with the Diamondbacks, unless they’re going to roll with six starters. He’ll presumably operate in long relief for Arizona, if he isn’t dealt to another club in need of extra rotation depth.

Montgomery has been dealing with a finger strain, and he just didn’t show anything with his velocity down about three mph today. Hopefully, it was all due to the finger. Barring a late trade, it looks like Montgomery is going to be in the Arizona bullpen to start the year.

Montgomery was originally expected to resume two days after his finger issue, but it still sounds like more of a precautionary issue. Montgomery is trying to win one of the final spots in the rotation, but despite his large contract, he faces an uphill battle after his dreadful 2024 campaign.

After the Diamondbacks signed Corbin Burnes this off-season, there was some chatter that the team would use a six-man rotation, but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now. If the Diamondbacks do stick to a five-man rotation, Burnes, Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, and Merrill Kelly seem like locks. That would mean that Ryne Nelson could begin the year in Triple-A and Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery could battle for the final rotation spot. Unless, of course, there’s a trade.