End of era: Jordan Montgomery stunned fans with shocking announcements…Read More

The 2023 World Series run by the Arizona Diamondbacks was followed by a disappointing season last year.

After a lackluster regular season, Arizona’s late-season push wasn’t enough to get them into the National League playoffs. The Diamondbacks’ starting pitching staff was a major contributor to the team’s poor performance; with an ERA of 4.79, it ranked 27th out of 30 MLB rotations.

This being said, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Patrick Mooney, “significant interest from clubs looking for starters” in the upcoming offseason has Arizona getting.

The excessive ERA of the rotation masks other issues; starters for Arizona were ravaged by injuries last year.

Team MVP While Zac Gallen was out for about a month with an injury, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez, two players who were heavily relied upon, were out for the better part of the season.

After missing Spring Training and having his worst Major League Baseball season to date, Jordan Montgomery—who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Day—appeared completely disoriented for the majority of the season.

Although neither reporter from The Athletic specifically mentioned it, Rodriguez and Montgomery are probably not the ones Arizona is pursuing. There is little to no incentive for other MLB clubs to be interested in either pitcher based on their 2024 results, and both contracts are quite heavy.

During the season, Arizona’s younger starters Ryne Nelson, Yilber Diaz, and Brandon Pfaadt filled in for their more famous rotation mates. Teams may have been more interested in these guys. All three of these show promise, are inexpensive, and remain under the team’s hands for extended periods of time.

In trade talks, young, skilled, and cost-controllable pitchers are always highly valued. They may frequently bring significantly more value than their more experienced rotation mates.

The Diamondbacks might be tempted to trade from a position of strength in the bullpen to address their potential offensive deficiencies in the event that Christian Walker, Joc Pederson, and Randall Grichuk go via free agency.