MLB Rumors: Mets ace target, Red Sox-Soto trade package, Braves reunions

MLB Rumors: Could Mets land Jordan Montgomery?

New York Mets team owner Steve Cohen spent around $500 million in total money on new contracts last offseason, in hopes that it would propel the team to a World Series appearance. Instead, the team fell out of the postseason picture early and opted to sell at the trade deadline. That included starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. With that, the starting rotation is an area new team president David Stearns must address.

But what are they to do?

SNY's Danny Abriano wrote an article on how the Mets should fill out their starting rotation for 2024. Abriano lists the obvious of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whom the team is linked to heavily this offseason, he also lists Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery as the "cleanest fit."

"Beyond Yamamoto, the cleanest fit via free agency could be Jordan Montgomery, but his price tag could become bloated beyond where it should be due to the impressive postseason performance he's having with the Rangers," writes Abriano.

No one has raised their value in free agency more than Montgomery. The former New York Yankees starter was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals last year due in part to the team not seeing him being in their playoff rotation and traded for outfielder Harrison Bader. Montgomery showed promise in the second half of the 2022 season but didn't get a chance to pitch in the playoffs due in part to the team getting swept in the Wild Card Series by the Philadelphia Phillies.

This year, Montgomery put up solid numbers with the Cardinals. But once being dealt to the Rangers to work with pitching coach Mike Maddux, Montgomery has been incredible. Through 11 regular season starts, Montgomery recorded a 2.79 ERA, a 1.094 WHIP, a 4-2 win-loss record, 58 strikeouts, and 13 walks in 67.2 innings.

In Texas' postseason run thus far, Montgomery shut out the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card Series and the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS. In his three starts, Montgomery accumulated a 2.08 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, a 2-0 win-loss record, 13 strikeouts, and two walks in 17.1 innings.

Montgomery's price tag could become too high for some teams if he continues to keep up at this pace. Thus far, he is garnering a lot of interest from teams. Could the Mets be an option? We'll find out this offseason when free agency begins.