Jordan Montgomery has agreed on a one-year deal to rejoin the Texas Rangers, three seasons after being part of their only World Series championship and while the left-hander continues rehabbing from a second elbow reconstruction surgery.
A person with knowledge of the deal confirmed the move on Wednesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been finalized or announced.
The Dallas Morning News first
reported the deal and said it was worth $1.25 million plus potential performance bonuses.
A trade-deadline acquisition from St. Louis in 2023, Montgomery went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 11 regular-season games for the Rangers before winning two AL Championship Series games. That included 2 1/3 innings in relief in the Game 7 ALCS clincher in Houston. He went 3-1 in six games that postseason, the loss coming when starting Game 2 of the World Series against Arizona.
He then left in free agency and didn't sign until late the following spring with the Diamondbacks, going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA in 2024 before missing all of last season.
Depending on his rehab, Montgomery could provide some pitching depth for the Rangers in the second half of this season. His surgery last year was done by Dr. Keith Meister, one of their team physicians.
Montgomery first had Tommy John surgery in 2018 that was performed by former New York Yankees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.
Because the Rangers went into spring training with a full 40-man roster, they will have to make a move to clear a spot on the active roster for Montgomery before they can place him on the injured list.
Montgomery missed nearly a month with a knee injury in 2024 and finished with 83 strikeouts in 117 innings, and he was eventually demoted to the bullpen. That deal was for $25 million, part of a contract that drew harsh public criticism from Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick after he pushed for it.
That criticism came before Montgomery exercised a $22.5 million option to stay with Arizona in 2025, then had surgery late last March. The Diamondbacks traded him to Milwaukee last July, and he became a free agent again after the season.
Over eight big league seasons with the New York Yankees, St. Louis, Texas and Arizona, the 33-year-old lefty is 46-41 with a 4.03 ERA in 166 games (161 starts).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
