The Boston Red Sox didn't do much this offseason to improve their chances of making the playoffs outside of signing Lucas Giolito, who suffered a season-ending injury before the season, and Liam Hendriks, who has yet to debut to the club.
One player that most fans were begging the team to sign was left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery, who remained unsigned until late into the offseason before joining the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year, $25 million deal with vesting options for 2025.
Montgomery, in a recent conversation with The Boston Herald, placed the blame squarely on his former representative, Scott Boras, who he has since parted ways with.
“I had a Zoom call with (the Red Sox), that’s really all I know. It went good,” Montgomery said. “I don’t know, obviously Boras kind of butchered it, so I’m just trying to move on from the offseason and try to forget it.”
Montgomery has struggled mightily this year in Arizona, posting a 6.16 ERA (4.53 FIP) with a 1.661 WHIP while striking out a career-low 6.3 batters per nine innings.
Boston may have made an offer last offseason, but Montgomery didn't know about it if they did. If they did, would he have considered signing with the Red Sox?
“Yeah, for sure. Me and my wife loved it here. She was at Beth Israel for a year, love the area, love the fans,” Montgomery said. “It would have been awesome if it had worked out that way, but it didn’t.”
Montgomery can opt out of the option year of his contract for 2025 with the Diamondbacks, but if he makes four more starts for the club, it will vest at $25 million for the year. And, after this season, he's probably not getting that money elsewhere.
So, if he does want to play for the Red Sox, he probably wouldn't do so until 2026 at the earliest.
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