Diamondbacks make roster decisions after Jordan Montgomery injury
Before Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced that starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery would be placed on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation, retroactive to June 29.
The Diamondbacks also announced that they were reinstating catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Alek Thomas from the 10-day injured list and recalling pitcher Gavin Hollowell from Triple-A Reno. Infielder Blaze Alexander was optioned to Triple-A and catcher Tucker Barnhart was designated for assignment.
Montgomery was roughed up in his last start, giving up eight runs (seven earned) and 10 hits in just 2 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. It is not clear whether or not Montgomery injured his knee during this start or after off-the-field.
Jordan Montgomery's rough season so far
This stint on the injured list is just the latest thing to go wrong in what has been a disastrous 2024 season for Montgomery .
This past offseason, Montgomery was one of the best available free agent starting pitchers. MLB Trade Rumors initially projected Montgomery to earn a six-year, $150 million contract. However, Montgomery remained unsigned until the end of spring training and instead signed a one-year, $25 million "prove it" contract with the Diamondbacks in hopes of re-entering free agency and earning a long-term contract next offseason.
Before hitting the IL, Montgomery had a 6-5 record with a 6.44 ERA and 1.675 WHIP in 13 starts with Arizona.
In May, Montgomery told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that his struggles could be related to him missing spring training.
"I used to hate Spring Training," Montgomery said. "And now I'm like, I love Spring Training."
It looked like Montgomery may have been pitching himself back into shape and turning a corner in June before his last start against the Twins, recording three straight starts going at least five innings and three or fewer earned runs. Now, he will have to wait until after the All-Star game to try and continue getting his season back on track.
Despite Montgomery's injury, the Diamondbacks rotation could be getting a boost soon after receiving good news about their other free agent starting pitcher acquisition Eduardo Rodriguez, who began the season on the 60-day injured list with a left shoulder strain and has yet to debut with Arizona. Rodriguez's latest MRI came back clean, and he could begin throwing as soon as Friday.
Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen also recently returned to the rotation after missing about a month with a hamstring injury, pitching six innings of one-hit ball against the Oakland A's on Saturday.
Arizona is currently 2.5 games out of the third National League Wild Card spot. They'll need Montgomery healthy and pitching like his former-self if they want to make contend for a postseason berth.
If Montgomery is able to look like the pitcher that led the Rangers to the 2023 World Series title, the Diamondbacks will have one of the top rotations in baseball and should be one of the favorites to make it out of the hyper-competitive NL Wild Card race.
