Risky Business: Should Guardians Make a Trade for…

The Cleveland Guardians must find a way to get more starting pitching on their roster this offseason.

Cleveland likely won’t be suitors for some of the big-name free agents, such as Blake Snell and Max Fried, so the front office might need to get creative to make these necessary upgrades.

One pitcher who appears to be available for trade this offseason is Arizona Diamondbacks starter Jordan Montgomery. However, there are some risks involved with any deal for the 31-year-old.

Montgomery, fresh of winning the 2023 World Series signed a mega $47 million contract with the Diamondbacks last offseason. However, his first season in the dessert was somehwat of a disaster as he finished with a 6.23 ERA and 1.65 WHIP.

Arizona’s owner was shockingly candid about this signing, calling it a “horrible decision.” The organization is even reportedly willing to eat some of the money to incentivize another team to trade for him.

The thing is, Montgomery’s 2024 stats are an anomaly when compared to his entire career. If you take last year out of the equation, he has had a 3.68 ERA in seven big-league seasons and has, time and time again, proven to be a consistent pitcher.

Montgomery also signed with the D-Backs on March 29 and missed all of spring training. Blake Snell, who was in a similar position last spring, admitted that not being with a big league team to ramp up for the year contributed to his slow start.

There’s a very real possibility that Montgomery was just never able to find a rhythm and feel without having that crucial ramp-up time before the season started.

There are very few organizations in baseball that should feel confident in helping a pitcher get back on track after a down season. Given Cleveland’s pitching development history, the Guardians are one of those teams.

Even if Cleveland does trade for Montgomery and he posts similar numbers as he did in 2024, he would be off the books next offseason, presenting no long-term risk in terms of cap flexibility.

Depending on Arizona’s asking price for Montgomery, this could be a low-risk trade with a huge reward for the Guardians, and it’s one the front office should at least entertain over the next two months.