Miami Marlins were right not to pursue a starting pitcher

The Miami Marlins are facing a grievance for not spending. It seemed to make sense to improve the farm by taking on a little salary right? The Fish could use some certainty in the rotation and Jordan Montgomery was out there. The Arizona Diamondbacks were desperate to get his $22.5 million off of the payroll. Not pursuing him turned out to be the right call. Montgomery now needs Tommy John Surgery.

Jordan Montgomery could've been an option for the Miami Marlins.

It was a very simple transaction. The Arizona Diamondbacks could've sent prospects to the Miami Marlins, and The Fish could've taken on a big part of Montgomery's salary. Reportedly, Arizona were looking for as much as $13 million of the salary to be taken on by the acquiring team. There's really no reason why The Fish couldn't make a move such as this.

Jordan Montgomery could've also been a trade candidate mid-season, as he is a free agent after the season. He is coming off of a bad season, pitching to a 6.23 ERA/4.48 FIP, with 6.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 25 games and 117.0 innings pitched. He was much better in 2023, when he pitched to a 3.20 ERA/3.56 FIP, with 7.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 32 games and 188.2 innings pitched.

Montgomery posted his 2024 results with Arizona, but pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers in the 2023 season. He was part of Texas's World Series winning team in 2023 in fact, that is what made Arizona very interested in him, though unfortunately for them it didn't turn out to go as good as they wanted it to.

It seemed to make sense for The Fish to take on his salary to improve the farm, while avoiding a grievance from the MLBPA. It turned out to be right for the Miami Marlins to avoid making the move. Jordan Montgomery needs Tommy John Surgery and had Peter Bendix traded for him, it would've turned into a disaster of a deal, with his salary being dead weight on the payroll. Not making the trade was the right call.