The Boston Red Sox still need to strengthen their pitching staff ahead of Opening Day and one perfect fit in free agency remains.
The Red Sox and Jordan Montgomery have been linked to each other dozens of times since the start of the offseason, however, the 31-year-old may now have a handful of options on his plate.
“Four new teams have reached out to Scott Boras about Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery since the start of spring training, Boras says,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Monday afternoon.
Although the Red Sox have been heavily linked to Montgomery throughout the offseason, any other teams getting in the mix would be bad news for Boston.
We know Boston is unwilling to spend heavily this offseason so if there is a bidding war for Montgomery the Red Sox will likely be the first team to call it quits.
Montgomery is also reportedly growing frustrated with Boras and these new teams who are reportedly interested in the southpaw could be ready to strike quickly to land the reigning World Series Champion.
With the regular season right around the corner, it wouldn’t be surprising if one of these four mystery teams signed Montgomery sooner rather than later.
The price tag lowering for Montgomery appears to be a positive for the frugal Red Sox on the surface but that is not the case. If the southpaw is going to take a pillow contract, his average annual value will go up as well as his list of suitors.
At that point, it makes more sense for Montgomery to spend the season on a contender — which the Red Sox are far from barring multiple breakout campaigns by young players.