Would The Yankees Bring Back Jordan Montgomery?

The New York Yankees have a stockpile of starting pitchers, but that hasn’t stopped one MLB analyst from suggesting they should roll the dice and trade for another arm. Yep, we’re talking about none other than Jordan Montgomery, the former Yankee who had a less-than-stellar 2024 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick isn’t shy about admitting it was a bust of a signing. He candidly told Arizona Sports, “If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re talking to the guy that should be blamed. Because…I pushed for it. They agreed to it — it wasn’t in our game plan. And looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision to invest that money in a guy who performed as poorly as he did.”

Ouch! That’s some brutal honesty right there. But here’s where it gets interesting. Some analysts believe Montgomery’s rough patch could make him the perfect “buy-low” candidate. Enter Jeremy Nielsen of Pinstripe Alley, who thinks the Yankees should bring Montgomery back into the fold. Nielsen writes, “If the Yankees traded for Montgomery, he’d escape a toxic situation in Arizona and return to the organization which drafted and developed him. He’d also get a full spring training this time around. Instead of missing camp entirely while holding out for a better deal that never came.”

Now, before you say, “But wait, isn’t the Yankees’ rotation already packed?” Nielsen is way ahead of you. The rotation lineup for 2025 is looking pretty solid with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, and the new addition of Max Fried. So, where does Montgomery fit in?

Nielsen concedes, “Giving Montgomery an outside shot at best of making the rotation… The most likely scenario in which Montgomery would return to the Bronx is as a break-glass-in-case-of-long-term-injury option. If one of the projected starters goes down for an extended period, bringing Gumby aboard would make more sense.”

There you have it! While the Yankees seem set on the mound, bringing Montgomery back could be a strategic move if injuries strike. Who knows, maybe a reunion with the Yankees could reignite the spark in Montgomery’s pitching career.