Ranking 5 best Jordan Montgomery destinations if Rangers trade for Dylan Cease
If the Rangers trade for Dylan Cease, that presumably knocks them officially out of the Jordan Montgomery sweepstakes. These five teams make the most sense if Texas is out.
Throughout the offseason, the Chicago White Sox made it known that they were willing to trade for Dylan Cease, it just had to be for the right price. Whether the Sox have come down on their asking price or other teams have met them, chatter surrounding the right-hander has picked up again in recent days with the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers teams reportedly showing interest.
The Yankees' interest makes sense with Gerrit Cole potentially set to miss substantial time with an elbow injury, but the Rangers' interest is new. Texas needs another starter with Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle beginning the season on the IL, but a Jordan Montgomery reunion seemed to be out of the question for financial reasons.
While trading for Dylan Cease would cost a ton in terms of assets, he's only making $8 million this season and is under team control through the 2025 season. If the Rangers do pull off a Cease trade, Montgomery's chances of returning to Texas would presumably go from almost zero to zero. With that being said, let's rank destinations if a return to Texas is out of the question.
5. The Mets might get desperate and sign Jordan Montgomery after Kodai Senga's injury
The New York Mets have been as patient as they have ever been in the Steve Cohen era this offseason. They've refused to hand out any long-term contracts with the lone exception being Yoshinobu Yamamoto who wound up signing with the Dodgers anyway.
The Mets plan on being somewhat competitive in 2024 but clearly don't have the same World Series or bust expectations that they've had in each of the last two seasons. They plan on seeing what they have with their young players while attempting to build something sustainable.
An early-season injury to Kodai Senga might be what causes the Mets to finally reverse course and splurge a bit. They probably won't give Montgomery a long-term contract, but if he's open to a deal similar to the one Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman signed, the Mets might just be the team to seal the deal.
Their chances of making the playoffs feel very slim if Senga has to miss substantial time with how weak the rest of their rotation is. Adding Montgomery to the mix not only puts the Mets back in that conversation, but they can become an interesting team to watch in October if everything clicks.