Diamondbacks owner takes full blame for 'horrible' Jordan Montgomery signing
By Quinn Everts
For years, baseball fans have been begging owners to take responsibility for poor managerial moves. Well, Arizona Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick went on a radio show in Arizona on September 30th and did just that. If anything, he may have been too honest, taking full blame for the Diamondbacks signing pitcher Jordan Montgomery to a one-year, $25 million contract, a process that Montgomery admitted his former agent Scott Boras didn't handle well.
Montgomery was relegated to the bullpen after struggling mightily all season, finishing the year with a 6.23 ERA and a WHIP of 1.650.
"If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you're talking to the guy that should be blamed."
— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) October 1, 2024
D-backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick on the signing of Montgomery in the offseason.
Full interview: https://t.co/c9zHhCcebT pic.twitter.com/4wfNmwihSX
"And looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision to have invested that money in a guy who performed as poorly as he did," Kendrick said on The Burns and Gambo Show. "It's our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint, and I'm the perpetrator of that."
Ken Kendrick takes responsibility... by throwing a player under the bus
Well, that's about as honest as it gets from an owner. Is it too honest? Maybe.
Sure, Montgomery was bad this season. But does it do any good to disparage a player who — at the time of the signing — had just won a World Series with Texas and played great baseball in the postseason, including a seven-inning shutout of Houston in the ALCS. But is disparaging a player, who is no longer on the team, the best way to lure future free agents to the organization? And is it a bit of revisionist history to act as though not signing Montgomery would have fixed the season? That's what it feels like Kendrick is implying here; if Arizona saved $25 million by not signing Montgomery, that money could have been used on more productive players.
Owners taking responsibility is a step; taking that responsibility by blaming one player for performing poorly might not be the way to do it.
Arizona narrowly missed the NL Wild Card, as a Mets / Braves doubleheader split on Monday knocked them out of the #6 seed. One year after a World Series run, and after posting a 40-25 record after the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks are headed home early.