This offseason has been anything but "full throttle" for the Boston Red Sox, but with a full month to go until Opening Day, there is still time for that to change. Cody Bellinger re-signed with the Chicago Cubs over the weekend and the dominos that are the other top Scott Boras clients -- Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell -- could soon begin to fall.
The Red Sox have been connected to Montgomery throughout the offseason in part because his wife, McKenzie, is based in Boston for her medical residency. On Monday, ESPN reported the Red Sox and Montgomery met recently over Zoom, a meeting Red Sox manager Alex Cora later confirmed. Here's what Cora said about the virtual meeting with Montgomery (via MassLive.com):
"(ESPN's Buster Olney) is right," Cora said Monday at JetBlue Park. "We zoomed with him. But we've been zooming with a lot of people throughout the offseason. I'm not going to get into specifics but yeah, it's part of the process. It was a while ago, too. I was in South Beach for that one. I was in Miami."
Cora being in Miami means the Zoom meeting with Montgomery took place before spring training started last week, so while that qualifies as recent, it wasn't within the last day or two. That said, deals can come together quickly, and Bellinger's signing could be an indication Boras and his other clients are ready to act. Here's what Bellinger's deal means for Montgomery (and others).
As things stand, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello are the only locks for the Red Sox's rotation. Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock are in the mix to round out the starting staff. Clearly, the Red Sox could use another starting pitcher, both now and long-term. Montgomery could help Boston right away in 2024, and also in 2025 and beyond.
Montgomery, 31, split last season between the St. Louis Cardinals and World Series champion Texas Rangers. He threw a career-high 188 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA during the regular season, then added another 31 innings with a 2.90 ERA in the postseason. Montgomery ranked sixth among all pitchers in starts and 17th in innings over the last three seasons.
The Red Sox have had a low-key offseason despite chairman Tom Werner's now infamous "full throttle" quip in in November. They swapped Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom, replaced Alex Verdugo with Tyler O'Neill, and signed Giolito to provide bulk innings. Boston's projected $165 million payroll is well south of last year's $181 million Opening Day figure.
With a 78-84 record, the Red Sox finished in last place for the third time in the last four years in 2023. We ranked Montgomery the tenth-best free agent available this offseason. He was ineligible for the qualifying offer because he was traded at least year's deadline, meaning Montgomery is not attached to draft pick compensation.
