Yankees fans will be sad to see Jordan Montgomery hitting low point with D-backs

This generation of New York Yankees fans will always remember Jordan Montgomery, and most have a soft spot for him after Brian Cashman mercilessly blindsided him with a trade to the St. Louis Cardinals during a career-best season (and a year in which it looked like the team was going to make a World Series run).

The return? Harrison Bader, who arrived in a walking boot, was the 2022 ALDS hero, and then flamed out so drastically that he ended up convincing himself this past offseason that he was always destined to be a Met. Ok, man.

Monty's path has been much more palatable. He got back at the Yankees by dominating in St. Louis, parlaying his hot streak to another trade to the Texas Rangers, whom he helped win a World Series with a spectacular second half and dominant ALCS against the Houston Astros.

But then the left-hander hit free agency. The Rangers hit a financial snag because of their TV deal fiasco, and no team wanted to pay the reported asking price for Montgomery, which was Carlos Rodón's six-year, $162 million contract.

In the end, Monty signed after the season began, inking a one-year deal with the Rangers' World Series opponent, the Arizona Diamondbacks. What was thought to be a very good fit is now a bit nightmarish, with Montgomery getting booed off the mound following his most recent start.

Yankees fans will be sad to see Jordan Montgomery hitting low point with D-backs

Both Montgomery and Blake Snell weren't afforded a full spring training slate because they signed late. It's unclear who's totally at fault — whether the owners stood their ground or Scott Boras refused to accept anything below his set prices for his clients — but either way the two star pitchers have been adversely affected without the appropriate workload.

Some might say that's no excuse because a guy like Michael Lorenzen also signed late and is doing just fine, but that's the kind of pitcher who'd be used to that kind of uncertainty — Monty and Snell are bonafide stars that have never even dreamed of being subjected to that kind of offseason neglect.

Snell has hit the IL twice already (on top of pitching poorly) while Montgomery has a 6.80 ERA in nine starts.

The Yankees had a hand in both of these situations. They reportedly offered Snell $150 million and he turned it down, which led to his offseason spiral. They attempted to sign Monty after they had surpassed the third luxury tax threshold, but the two sides couldn't work out a deal that both parties liked.

But Yankees fans have to admit it's upsetting seeing both of these premier talents scuffle the way they've had, and it's even more disheartening to watch a former player get booed by a small market crowd after he just made himself available at every turn to help a franchise win its first ever championship.