A new report suggests that the Arizona Diamondbacks’ decision to surprisingly sign Jordan Montgomery days before the start of the season was very much a reactionary decision due to an escalated arms race inside the division.
The 2023 MLB season was a magical ride for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After squeaking into the playoffs they went on an improbable run that got them into striking distance of the franchise’s second World Series title. While they were unsuccessful in that pursuit, maintaining the success of a roster that overachieved last year was no guarantee.
- Jordan Mongomery contract: One year, $25 million
Also Read: MLB standings – Latest standings after the first week of the regular season
However, after being a franchise that ran on a tight budget for years, the organization rewarded its fanbase by spending money this offseason to give them a real chance to compete in a tough division. Throughout the winter the general goal was to create a roster that could stay in range of the expensive Dodgers roster and see where the chips fall in the playoffs.
Yet, to the surprise of many both the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres made a pair of moves just a couple of weeks before the start of the 2024 MLB season to add aces Blake Snell and Dylan Cease. Well, it seems those moves forced the Diamondbacks’ hand and made them make their own surprising addition late in spring training.
Arizona Diamondbacks spent the fourth most in 2023-24 MLB free agency
“The Arizona Diamondbacks’ push to sign Jordan Montgomery may have accelerated after Eduardo Rodriguez’s strained lat muscle late in the spring, but the truth is that it was the Giants’ spring-training acquisitions of Blake Snell and Matt Chapman, and the Padres’ trade for Dylan Cease, that pushed the D-backs into action,” USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale wrote over the weekend.
“The Diamondbacks spent the fourth-most money in free agency this offseason at $161.5 million, thanks in part to the extra revenue from their World Series run.”
The Dodgers also made a huge splash in the pitching market when they won the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes in the winter. Arizona signed the 2023 champion to a one-year, $25 million deal just days before the start of the season. The team’s front office deserves credit for the bold move that helps to give them one of the better rotations in the NL.
