3 plausible Jordan Montgomery suitors who haven’t been mentioned yet

2. Jordan Montgomery can sustain Royals' quietly impressive offseason

The Kansas City Royals extended Bobby Witt Jr. for $288.8 million and traded for Kyle Wright. The latter won't be on the mound until next season, but it has been a quietly impressive offseason for the AL Central's forgotten franchise. It's nice to see a small market team evaluate their cruddy circumstances and actually try to get better. The Royals aren't totally breaking the bank — currently 20th in payroll — but even the slightest hint of expense for some of these small market teams is a reason to celebrate.

It's probably a bit early for the Royals to meaningfully pivot toward "contention," but the pitching staff received a major offseason facelift. In addition to the Wright trade, Kansas City signed Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. Both are rock-solid middle rotation starters. Cole Ragans, meanwhile, thrived in Kansas City after the trade deadline. The Rangers transplant went 5-2 in 12 starts with the Royals, posting a 2.64 ERA and 1.074 WHIP across 71.2 innings pitched.

Kansas City is going to put up a fight if all goes to plan on the rotational front. Their core gets even stronger with Montgomery in the mix. He would give the Royals an experienced No. 1 ace, in turn taking some of the pressure off Ragans, Lugo, and others. The former is the only southpaw currently in Kansas City's starting rotation, so Montgomery offers matchup balance, too.

It's easy to root for deals like this. The Royals play in a beautiful ballpark, with a loyal fanbase. Maybe Kansas City only deserves one great franchise — it's hard to feel too bad for the fans that get to root for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce (and Taylor Swift?) — but the Royals are gradually outclassing their small-market brethren at the bottom of the AL. Eventually it will pay off. It would be pretty neat to see the Royals throw a wrench into free agency and land a flashy Scott Boras client.