Going back to last offseason, the Atlanta Braves were urged by a lot fans and experts to get involved in Jordan Montgomery's market. Obviously the Braves steering clear worked out as Montgomery struggled mightily after needing to settle for a short-term deal with Arizona and promptly firing Boras for botching his free agency, but the connection between Atlanta and Montgomery has persisted even into this offseason.
After the Diamondbacks' owner very publicly threw Montgomery under the bus to the derision of almost everyone, Montgomery got his revenge by exercising his $22.5 million option to force Arizona's hand this offseason. Most agree that the Diamondbacks have to trade Montgomery after trashing him publicly, but exactly what such a trade should look like and who would take him has been harder to pin down.
During a recent Q&A over on The Athletic, MLB insider and former GM Jim Bowden was asked about the possibility that the Braves could trade for Montgomery this offseason. Not only did Bowden almost completely dismiss the possibility that such a trade could happen, but also added the nugget that the Braves are still trying to re-sign both Max Fried and Charlie Morton.
Idk that I believe him but Bowden indicates in here that the Braves are trying to re-sign both Fried and Morton. He also says that Nico Hoerner isn’t good enough defensively to play SS so he isn’t a fit for the Braves. He goes on to say that any available payroll will go the 1/2 https://t.co/cdvB1mlVey
— Jasoñ Reese (@jase1129) November 25, 2024
Jim Bowden thinks Braves focus on re-signing Fried and Morton will keep them away from Jordan Montgomery trade
There is a lot to unpack here. Starting with re-signing Morton, there is a price point where bringing back Morton makes some sense. However, he is 41 years old, has seen his strikeout rate decrease in each of the last three seasons, and just posted a pretty mediocre 4.19 ERA season where he had a lot of issues with avoiding barrels. If he comes back for one more year at $10 million, thats probably fine. Anything more that is pretty suspect, though, considering the other options (including internally) the Braves have available.
Re-signing Fried would obviously get Braves fans really excited. While far from a perfect pitcher, Fried is perennially in the Cy Young conversation and has been a key part of some really good Braves teams. His market currently includes some pretty brutal potential landing spots, but it is nice to see that Atlanta hasn't given up on bringing him back just yet.
As for Montgomery, the circumstances where the Braves should be involved are honestly independent of the Morton conversation and might also not matter if Atlanta brings back Fried. Coming off a season where Montgomery posted a 6.23 ERA, his pitching metrics dropped off a cliff, and he posted the worst strikeout rate of his career, Atlanta should only entertain trading for Montgomery if Arizona is willing to eat a significant portion of his 2025 money. If they will do that, Montgomery could be a great bounce-back candidate.
However, if trading for Montgomery means that the bulk of the payroll space the Braves have freed up this offseason is taken up by the move, that would be a mistake. While many think that Montgomery's struggles in 2024 were in part due to signing so late, he was bad enough that Atlanta can't afford to push all their chips in and pray for a rebound effort.