Red Sox Rumors: Jordan Montgomery Prioritized in FA, Team Waiting for Price to Drop

The Boston Red Sox have yet to make a splash in free agency with Opening Day looming, but it appears the franchise is at least trying to add to its rotation this winter.

Boston is "prioritizing" veteran left hander Jordan Montgomery over other potential pitching additions in free agency, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford. However, the franchise is "still waiting for price to come down," Bradford added.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman also reported Thursday in a Bleacher Report Walk-Off segment that the Red Sox "were definitely talking to Montgomery about two weeks ago." However, he added "there has been no movement on that since then."

Heyman also listed the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels among the teams potentially interested in adding Montgomery this winter.

Boston is desperate for rotation help ahead of the 2024 campaign after a disappointing 2023 season that saw the team finish last in the American League East for the second straight year and third time in four seasons.

The Red Sox entered spring training with a rotation highlighted by Brayan Bello and the newly-signed Lucas Giolito, but the arms behind them are questionable at best after the trade that sent Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves.

Nick Pivetta is known to be inconsistent and Garrett Whitlock, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck also bring with them some major questions.

The Red Sox signed Liam Hendriks to a two-year, $10 million deal earlier this week, but it's unclear if he'll pitch in 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. Hendriks told reporters he's targeting the July 30 trade deadline for his Boston debut.

"That's my goal. That's 12 months-ish. ... Throwing has been going well. These guys got a chance to see me throw for the first time today. They seemed pleased with what I was doing," Hendriks said. "It seems pretty normal to me and now it's just a matter of me trying to poke and prod them to let me go as fast as I can and them trying to rein me back in a safe and sane way to do things."

Montgomery would be a major addition to Boston's staff and would likely step in as the leader in the rotation after helping the Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series.

The 31-year-old was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Rangers at last year's deadline and was impressive in 11 starts for Texas, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.79 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 58 strikeouts in 67.2 innings.

Montgomery boasts a career 3.68 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in seven seasons. Aside from the Cardinals and Rangers, he also spent five and a half seasons with the New York Yankees to open his career.