Key Team Reportedly Drops Out of Jordan Montgomery Sweepstakes

Jordan Montgomery played a key role in the Texas Rangers' pursuit and obtaining of the franchise's first ever World Series championship. After the Rangers acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals in a trade, he went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA down the stretch to get the Rangers into the dance. He kept it rolling in the playoffs, too. He beat the Astros twice in the ALCS posting 14 innings and a 1.19 ERA. All in all, the Rangers don't get the job done without him.

Now, Montgomery is a free agent and looking towards the future.

The Rangers would be silly to not want him to return for a chance to repeat as champions. But other teams are also out there looking to add the left-hander to their rotation. Luckily for Texas, the competition pool just got a little less crowded.

Phillies Pull Out of the Montgomery Sweepstakes

The Athletic's Matt Gelb (paywall) cites a source as saying that the Philadelphia Phillies are done pursuing both Montgomery and left-handed starter Blake Snell. This is one less team now for the Rangers to fight with to retain Montgomery.

The consensus on the internet has the Rangers retaining Montgomery and running it back for a repeat. But weirder things have happened in the past. As spring training quickly approaches, the Rangers need to act now before a potential other suitor (or a surprise team) comes up and snatches him from them unexpectedly.

If the Rangers can get the deal done, Montgomery would help a veteran rotation look towards another deep run in October.

For now, Texas is tied for fourth in the odds to win the 2024 World Series at 10-to-1. Getting a deal done with Montgomery could give those odds a nice boost.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.