Pros and Cons of Jordan Montgomery

Posted by Patrick Gorman 3/3/2024

It has been a bumpy start so far down in Port St. Lucie, Florida for The Metropolitans. Their ace Kodai Senga has been shut down from throwing with an unknown timeline for his return to the rotation. Senga was diagnosed with a Moderate Right Posterior Capsule Strain in his shoulder on February 22, 2024. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza stated that he received a PRP injection and will not throw for three weeks. Senga would need to do full spring training which would take roughly six weeks to be fully ready to be inserted back in the rotation. Barring no setbacks (it is The Mets so this is slim to none) he will be back by mid May, but realistically I expect a June return.

With The Mets having many question marks behind Senga, the depth will be put to the test right out of the jump and will have to rely on Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi, and Jose Butto. Unless they decide to get outside help on the free agent market. Jon Heyman reported that The Mets have had "internal discussions" about bringing in Jordan Montgomery to stabilize this rotation. Before Senga went down I have been open to them bringing in Monty to the fold for many reasons, but I also understand why David Stearns has his concerns about signing him. Let's look at the pros and cons of Jordan Montgomery.

Pros

The one thing that sticks out to me about Jordan Montgomery is his durability. Since his MLB debut in 2017, Monty has had four seasons where he has thrown over 150 innings. With health questions revolved around Severino, Megill, and Manaea to an extent. Montgomery can provide that reliability and security while Senga recovers. Another pro that really sticks out to me is his postseason performance. In his career Jordan Montgomery has a 3-1 record with a 2.63 ERA in the postseason along with being a World Series Champion with The Texas Rangers. Having that guy in your rotation that can show up in big games against rivals like The Braves and Phillies will be huge. The biggest pro to me is that he fits the 2025 and beyond that has been told to us since they traded away everyone in the 2023 trade deadline. Once this season ends there is only one pitcher in the rotation for the 2025 season and that is Kodai Senga. If you sign Montgomery to a multi-year deal that gives you two quality pitchers slated for your 2025 rotation which means you can spend less on the rotation for the 2025 season.

Cons

The only con that I can see people having with The Mets signing Jordan Montgomery is the tax hit we will get on the payroll. An example is if the team pays Montgomery 25 million dollars we will be in theory paying him double because of The Steve Cohen Luxury Tax Threshold.

Overall, with the payroll being a lot more flexible next off-season because of all the dead money I can see why The Mets are being super conservative. However, with Steve Cohen owning the team, money is simply an object and Jordan Montgomery is net positive for the team's present and future. I think the organization can afford to take the tax hit this year with the payroll being more flexible going into the off-season next year. If this team wants to be a playoff team, then signing Jordan Montgomery is a key factor.