Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick blasts Jordan Montgomery signing after missing playoffs: 'It was our biggest mistake'

Fresh off an appearance in the 2023 World Series, conventional wisdom suggested that the Diamondbacks were poised to make a charge for a postseason berth in 2024.

Arizona's lineup ultimately got the memo. Ketel Marte was an All-Star Game starter, Corbin Carroll posted a .919 OPS in the second half of the season, and Joc Pederson enjoyed the best year of his big league career. All that amounted to the D-backs scoring 886 runs in 2024, by far the highest total in baseball.

Pitching was another story. Arizona surrendered the fourth-most earned runs per game (4.62), only "bested" by the Rockies, Marlins, and White Sox — all of whom lost 100 or more games in 2024.

Torey Lovullo's side fell one game short of postseason qualification, finishing as the odd man out in an NL wild-that card chase that featured the Padres, Mets, and Braves. That has some in the organization asking questions, namely team owner Ken Kendrick, who offered his candid thoughts on one of the franchise's highest-paid players — starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery — on Tuesday.

Here's what you need to know.

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What did Ken Kendrick say about Jordan Montgomery?

Kendrick dumped Montgomery for his performance during the 2024 season, taking full blame for the decision to sign the southpaw, who struggled in his first year in the desert.

“Let me say it the best way I can say it: If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re talking to the guy who should be blamed,” Kendrick said (via Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro). “Because I brought it to their (his baseball operations department) attention. I pushed for it. They agreed to it."

Montgomery, 31, was one of MLB's most talked-about free-agent pitchers last offseason, hitting the market to great fanfare after going 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA and 166 strikeouts across 188.2 innings with the Cardinals and Rangers in 2023. He followed that up with a sterling 3-1 record and 2.90 ERA in the postseason for the World Series champs in Texas.

His agent, Scott Boras, preached patience, fielding calls from the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies, among others. In the end, he settled for the Valley of the Sun. He was compensated handsomely as a result — though on a shorter deal than originally anticipated — much to the eventual chagrin of Kendrick, who found Montgomery to be underwhelming in 2024, to put it lightly.

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“It wasn’t in our game plan," Kendrick said of signing Montgomery. "You know when he was signed, right at the end of spring training. And looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision, to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did. It was our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint. And I’m the perpetrator of that.”

Montgomery was one of baseball's worst starting pitchers in 2024. His 15.6-percent strikeout rate ranked in the fourth percentile among big-league hurlers, while his .348 expected weighted on-base average (xWOBA) was the sixth-worst mark in baseball (via Baseball Savant).

The counting stats weren't too much better for Montgomery, who finished the year with a 6.23 ERA and just 83 strikeouts in 117 innings pitched. His earned run performance was 33% worse than league average while his 1.65 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) was by far the worst in baseball among pitchers who threw at least 100 innings.

Kendrick seems to have buyer's remorse with his decision to agree to such a gaudy contract with Montgomery. He might have to get used to it.

Jordan Montgomery contract

• Years: 1 (with second-year player option)
• Value: $25 million (with player option worth up to $25 million in Year 2)

Montgomery agreed to a one-year, $25 million deal with the Diamondbacks at the dawn of the regular season. The deal came also included a vesting player option for a second year, dependent on whether he started at least 10 games in 2024.

The value of Montgomery's player option was placed on a scale depending on how many starts he made in 2024. If he started 10 games, his second-year option would be worth $20 million. If he made at least 18 starts, the value would increase to $22.5 million. If he reached 23 starts, the value of his option would rise to $25 million, as reported by New York Post's Jon Heyman.

Montgomery finished his 2024 campaign with 21 starts. As such, he'll be due $22.5 million, if he does opt into his player option. Montgomery is expected to do so.

Jordan Montgomery stats

His 2024 season not withstanding, Montgomery has tended to be a solid, if unspectacular arm in any given starting rotation. He's been more of a middle-of-the-rotation guy than ace throughout his eight-year career.

Montgomery played a vital role in helping Texas capture its first World Series title in 2023,  throwing 31.2 innings over five starts and seven appearances prior to the Fall Classic. He registered a 3-0 record throughout the American League playoffs, striking out 24 batters with a 1.99 ERA. He got roughed up in his one World Series appearance against his future employers, however, as the Diamondbacks tagged Montgomery for four runs, nine hits, and four walks with just one strikeout over 6.0 innings when the two met in Game 2.

Here's a closer look at Montgomery's numbers at each stop in his big league career thus far.