PHOENIX -- Jordan Montgomery¡¯s time with the Arizona Diamondbacks appears to be over as the left-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery next week.
This will be Montgomery¡¯s second Tommy John surgery, with the first coming in 2018. This time, his procedure will be done by Dr. Keith Meister and will sideline the veteran left-hander for all of 2025 and likely part of '26 as well.
¡°Just haven¡¯t been recovering very well,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°Kind of day after that last game [March 19], I came back sore, took a day off like I normally do. Next day was still a little achy, so we pushed my bullpen back. Felt decent the next day, kind of just threw through it. Threw a pretty good bullpen, but something was wrong. They told me we were just going to get some imaging on it -- we thought it was just kind of a joint thing, would get a shot in there, clean it up and I¡¯d be good. And that just wasn¡¯t the case.¡±
If this is indeed the end of the line for Montgomery in Arizona, his tenure will go down as a frustrating one for both him and the team.
The 32-year-old was signed by the Diamondbacks just after Opening Day last season after he lingered on the free-agent market longer than expected. At the time, the signing appeared to be a coup of sorts for Arizona, getting a pitcher coming off a successful World Series season on a one-year deal with a vesting player option for 2025.
However, missing all of Spring Training while being unsigned put Montgomery behind and he never was fully able to catch up even with a stint in the Minor Leagues at the beginning of the season. He finished the year with a 6.23 ERA and lost his spot in the rotation in August.
Because of his struggles, Montgomery exercised his player option at $22.5 million for 2025 with the hopes of rebuilding his value before heading back out to the market.
That decision put a crimp in Arizona¡¯s budget and plan to add to the roster, although the Diamondbacks did surprisingly sign free agent Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract to push their payroll to a club record of nearly $200 million.
The team spent part of the offseason trying to trade Montgomery, but it was unable to find any takers.
Meanwhile, Montgomery worked hard over the winter, dropping 25 pounds and throwing aggressive bullpens as Spring Training drew closer.
On his last bullpen session before reporting to camp, Montgomery strained his left index finger, which put him about a week or so behind the other pitchers and those aggressive bullpens may also have been what contributed to his elbow injury, he said.
¡°I was probably just trying to throw too hard too soon,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°I was throwing bullpens really hard, and then get in a game and tense up trying to make the perfect pitch. That¡¯s never good for your arm. I was throwing some pretty good stuff, it was there.¡±
Because of the addition of Burnes, Montgomery had to fight for a rotation spot, competing with Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt for the fifth spot.
Pfaadt eventually won the spot, and the team planned on having Montgomery open the year in the bullpen. Instead, he¡¯ll spend it rehabbing and turning to his faith for comfort.
¡°I just believe I¡¯ve got really no control over my life,¡± Montgomery said. ¡°Kind of a fork in the road is going to be chosen and this is just what the Lord chose. I¡¯m going to rehab and keep working hard.¡±