Insider: Montgomery Has “Nothing On The Table” Right Now

The New York Yankees need a pitcher, the St. Louis Cardinals, with their patchwork rotation of 35+ year-olds, need a pitcher. And the Texas Rangers need a pitcher. Yet, solid left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery remains out on the free agent marketplace. 

And according to former MLB GM and MLB Network Radio insider Steve Phillips, Montgomery can be had for a pretty decent price, as he doesn't have much going for him at the moment. 

You might even get him for less than $100 million. He’s got nothing else on the table right now from everything we understand. How long is he going to keep saying 'no'? Is somebody going to tell him to say no to $80 million? I get it that it might not be what he thought he was going to get but at this point, Take a deal and live nicely with $80 million for yourself!

Good advice from the former GM, though the MLBPA—and that "somebody" Phillips refers to, agent Scott Boras—would probably disagree. Boras is likely the reason that the steady southpaw is still jobless. He expected to be able to command a massive $150M contract or more for Montgomery, coming off his best season and a World Series ring, to boot.

But none of his former teams, the Yankees, Rangers or Cardinals were interested in Boras's price, and they aren't capitulating. 

So as Phillips indicates, Montgomery will likely have to take a more reasonable, shortened contract, similar to the one Boras's other free agents have taken in recent weeks, like Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, that include a high AAV and an opt-out after a year and after another year. 

The biggest problem for the Yankees is that because of their tax apron situation, they'd have to pay, for instance, $63 million for one season of Montgomery on a $30 million contract. The Rangers are also facing a year of a bit more fiscal restraint. The Cardinals? We're not sure what the excuses are there.  

Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK