The Texas Rangers took what could only be described as a good old-fashioned flier on left-hander Jordan Montgomery .
The Rangers signed Montgomery to a one-year contract in spring training for far less than he would have gotten on the open market had he been healthy. But because he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, which erased his entire 2025 season, the Rangers got him cheap.
Texas also knew it would have to wait on him. He still had recovery and build up to work through. The Rangers may have envisioned him as a starter when he returned, but by the time he was ready the best spot to put him was in the bullpen.
He pitched in 13 games and went 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA. He threw 26 innings. That doesn't sound like much to build a future around with the 33-year-old lefty, who will be a free agent again this offseason. But his Statcast numbers suggest that the traits that made him successful in 2023 with Texas are still there.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery. Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Montgomery tends to use a sinker, a change-up and a curveball as his top three pitches. It's an arsenal designed to allow his fastball to be a complimentary pitch, to induce weak contact and force hitters to chase baseballs out of the zone. When he was with Texas in 2023 many of his Statcast numbers were in the average area. But his walk rate of 6.2% was in the 82nd percentile and his chase rate of 30.1 % was in the 67th percentile. Those are areas he tends to put up above-average numbers.
Even has he grinded away in Arizona in 2024, his chase rate of 33.3% was in the 91st percentile in the Majors and his barrel rate of 6.0% was in the 81st percentile. He went 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA but hitters were still having issues with his stuff - just not as much as in 2023.
Montgomery didn't have the innings to qualify for leaders this year and 27 innings is much of a sample size. But he got back to what he did best. For instance, his average exit velocity was 85.9 mph, which would have put him in the Top 10 percent in baseball had he qualified. His ground ball rate of 58.4% was exceptional and would have been in the Top 5 percent of pitchers.
His hard-hit rate of 32.5% and his walk rate of 5.8% would have been in the Top 20 percent in each category.
That's what Montgomery does best. His four-seam fastball averaged just 90.4 mph in 2026, three miles per hour lower than the average left-hander. But he has stuff and that stuff is hard to hit. He rarely walks hitters, the ones that hit him get weak contact and that tends to lead to ground balls.
That's a recipe for success in any ballpark - and an invitation for the Rangers to try and land him again for 2027.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Why Jordan Montgomery's 2026 Suggests Rangers Should Re-Sign Him .
