Veteran pitching is one of the greatest assets in today’s MLB, with a wily ace providing the backbone to many World Series teams over the years, including the 2023 Texas Rangers team that took the league by surprise last fall (and likely those baseball fans patiently waiting for Texas sports betting).
For last year’s Rangers squad, 31-year-old southpaw Jordan Montgomery was a one-man tour de force on the bump all year, with 4.1 WAR in 32 games during the regular season and a 3-1 mark with a career 2.63 ERA in the postseason.
Now, Montgomery finds himself ensnarled in the MLB’s marathon free agent snafu de jour, as his agent (Scott Boras) quarrels with MLB owners to get them to open their purse strings and spend some money on veteran talent, with no home at the moment after spending the second half of the year with the Rangers.
Coming from the reigning World Series champions, Montgomery is expected to be snatched up any day now. While he has expressed interest in staying in the Lone Star State, his wife is doing her medical residency in Boston – making his conversations with the Red Sox even more appealing.
BetTexas.com researched and developed odds for where Montgomery will play this upcoming season. Also, be sure to check out how teams do the year after winning the World Series.
Jordan Montgomery Free Agent Odds
Which MLB Team Will Sign Montgomery?
The top contenders to land the southpaw are AL East powers, the Boston Red Sox (+300) and the New York Yankees (+1000), who signed Montgomery in 2014 and employed him from 2017 to 2022, when he left to join the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Yankees need pitching depth, with a rotation that lacks experience behind AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole, as New York looks to put last year’s 82-80 disaster of a season behind them and superstar outfielder Juan Soto making his Big Apple debut next month.
Aside from those two East Coast powers, keep an eye on the Los Angeles Angels (+1350), San Francisco Giants (+3000) and Philadelphia Phillies (+7500), who are all in desperate need of solid starting pitching and who could turn to Montgomery if they miss out on fellow free agent and reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell.
For now, as Spring Training rolls on and Opening Day draws closer by the day, the clock is ticking on the MLB’s castoff free agents that find themselves between the proverbial rock (Boras) and a hard place (MLB ownership), with Montgomery swept up in that unfortunate standoff at the moment.
Stick with BetTexas.com for more Rangers coverage ahead of the eventual launch of Texas betting apps.
