Breaking: Braves Named Top Suitor for NL West Starting Pitcher
The Atlanta Braves continue to be suggested starting pitcher acquisitions as full squad practice gets underway in North Port, Fla.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D Rymer still has the Braves as a potential suitor for Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. The lefty has been pitched (no pun intended) as an option for the Braves the entire offseason. However, there has yet to be any word he could be on the move.
In his first in Arizona, Montgomery finished with a 6.23 ERA in 25 appearances, 21 starts. Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick publicly said he regretted this deal. Had this been a standard one-year contract, this would be all over and Montgomery would have been a free agent.
Because he made at least 10 starts, a one-year player option was activated. Since he made at least 18 starts, he’s owed $22.5 million. Naturally, he exercised the deal. It was the best offer he was going to get after that previous season.
Currently, the Braves are not expected to make any more major moves this offseason, especially on the starting pitcher front. Since Spencer Strider is expected to return early in the season, the Braves are opting to bank on him being enough.
For them to get another arm, it would have to be a significant upgrade over Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes. So, for the Braves to make this hypothetical move, it has to be determined if Montogomery is indeed an upgrade. With his finish to last season and the salary he carries, it’s hard to say that’s the case.
If this was coming off his 2023 season, where he had a 3.20 ERA, then maybe there’s a case. But the Braves have enough promising arms at a low cost that this is a move they can forgo.
At Braves’ projected rotation with a healthy Strider currently looks as follows:
Chris Sale
Spencer Strider
Spencer Schewellenbach
Reynaldo Lopez
Ian Anderson/Grant Holmes
