MLB Insider: What does Jordan Montgomery's free-agent market look like?

With Blake Snell now with the San Francisco Giants and Michael Lorenzen headed to the Texas Rangers, the free-agent starting pitcher options are dwindling. And so too are the teams looking for starting pitching reinforcements.

Which makes Jordan Montgomery’s free agency even more tricky.

Where Montgomery ends up is anyone’s guess. I’ll ask people around baseball – agents, players, executives – where they think Montgomery signs. The common rebuttal has been, “You tell me!” So no one knows what his market looks like or where he may end up. It is, besides Snell, the most unpredictable market in this free agency period.

MLB Insider: Where will Jordan Montgomery finally sign?

There are still plenty of teams that make sense for Montgomery. Among those teams that could use another starting pitcher include the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs.

But really, how many of those teams are prepared to spend the money to sign Montgomery?

According to a report from Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Astros are unlikely to pivot to Montgomery after pursuing Snell. The Red Sox, even after losing Lucas Giolito for the season, don’t seem likely to pursue Montgomery. The Rangers signed Lorenzen and that would seemingly take them out of the starting pitcher market. The Angels … maybe? But if they didn’t align on a price for Snell, it’s unlikely they would for Montgomery.

Which significantly dwindles the list of potential suitors. According to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Montgomery and the Yankees have had recent talks. But with the Yankees’ payroll above $297 million, they would have to pay a 110% tax on any additional salary, and they have been unwilling to do that for an upper-echelon player.

The Cubs, meanwhile, have been loosely linked to Montgomery in reports. Cubs manager Craig Counsell joked with Scott Boras at Cody Bellinger’s press conference, saying: “I thought Montgomery was coming with you.”

Montgomery, 31, will eventually get signed. There is no doubt about that. But for a player of his caliber – a World Series champion, 2.79-3.31 ERA the last two seasons and a frontline starter – to be struggling to land a contract of his liking has left the baseball world baffled. And there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight.