Should Jordan Montgomery Return To The Yankees?
Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery is going to be a very wealthy man pretty soon.
After winning the World Series as the Texas Rangers’ No. 1 pitcher, he could not have picked a better time to be a free agent. One of those interested, however, just so happens to be the New York Yankees.
MLB insider Jon Heyman reported this weekend that the Yanks are considering their former starter as an option to fortify their rotation in 2024. If nothing else, it’s another embarrassment for Brian Cashman after he could have kept and extended him for a team-friendly deal a long time ago. Instead, he would hypothetically have to pay the piper to make him return.
Other than a shaky start in the World Series against Arizona, he was partly the reason why the Texas Rangers even got there in the first place.
He was lights out in both the AL Wild Card against Tampa Bay and the ALCS against the defending champion Houston Astros. Those performances alone should get him a deal not too far off the Aaron Nola-Phillies extension. The question is now whether it would be in Texas, the Bronx, or somewhere else.
Has The Ship Sailed?
I am personally of the mindset that both sides should stay moved on from one another. Hindsight is 20-20, and trading Montgomery for Harrison Bader was a mistake.
That being said, bringing him back now on the wrong side of 30 won’t right the wrongs of the past. He has some big injuries on his track record, so anyone considering him must also consider whether the 2023 postseason was the best we’ll ever see out of him. Yankees fans already saw Year 1 of Carlos Rodon go about as bad as it possibly could have gone.
Imagine if that happened again, but with Montgomery?
A Jordon Montgomery-Yankees reunion will definitely keep being talked about. However, I think it’s best for both sides that they move on without each other. Besides, would you really want that guy to shave his awesome beard?
