With Opening Day less than four weeks away, agent Scott Boras said Monday that four new teams have expressed interest in free-agent starters Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell just within the last week, according to ESPN. The level of interest and the identity of those four teams is unknown, and it’s unclear if Montgomery and/or Snell is nearing a deal.
“There is a pitching panic going on in baseball,” Boras said (per ESPN). “We’ve got so many starting pitchers that are now compromised. Maybe short-term. Some long-term. And the calls for elite starters are starting to increase. With many clubs right now, because of the pitching issue, the competitiveness of their seasons is at risk.”
Already this spring the Baltimore Orioles (Kyle Bradish’s elbow), Toronto Blue Jays (Kevin Gausman’s shoulder), Houston Astros (Justin Verlander’s shoulder), and New York Mets (Kodai Senga’s shoulder) have had starters go down with injuries. Gausman and Verlander could be ready for Opening Day. Bradish and Senga will be sidelined longer though.
Spring training is peak pitcher injury season — approximately 30% of the year’s Tommy John surgeries happen in March — and other teams will lose starters between now and Opening Day. That’s just baseball. Injuries are inevitable, and injuries around the league could increase interest in Montgomery and Snell. All it takes is one desperate team to spice up the market.
Boras was speaking Monday at San Francisco Giants camp, where the team introduced new third baseman Matt Chapman. Chapman agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract with two opt outs to reunite with manager Bob Melvin. The two were together for several years with the Oakland Athletics. Boras declined to reveal whether Montgomery and/or Snell would be open to similar contracts.
Montgomery and Snell are nearing to the point where it’s fair to wonder if they’ll have enough time to get ready for the regular season. In 2018, Jake Arrieta signed on March 12, 17 days before Opening Day. He did not make his regular season debut until April 8, and even then he was on a 75-pitch limit. Montgomery and Snell likely need to sign within 7-10 days to be ready for the season.
Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, and Montgomery are two of the six top 50 free agents who remain unsigned. J.D. Martinez, another Scott Boras client, is also still without a team for 2024.
