Diamondbacks' Jordan Montgomery to Have Tommy John Surgery

This news comes as a surprise, as Montgomery pitched well in his recent outing, throwing 2.2 shutout innings with improved velocity, command and movement on his pitches.

Montgomery had experienced a delay in his throwing program to open Spring Training, as an index finger pushed him back past his initial debut. He was then shelled for five earned runs while recording only one out, with his fastball velocity sitting below 90 MPH.

He was then moved to a backfields session at Salt River Fields, with the intent of allowing him to make some adjustments ahead of his next outing. Those adjustments did appear to pay off for the time being.

Much had been made of Montgomery's unique situation this offseason, as a poor 2024 season with the Diamondbacks saw him pitch to a career-worst 6.23 ERA over 117.1 innings. He was later relegated to the bullpen.

With right-hander Brandon Pfaadt securing the fifth starter's spot following Cactus League play, Montgomery was set to resume relief duties in 2025.

The D-backs had been mostly transparent in their desire to trade the left-hander to a starter-needy team, and offload part of his $22.5 million 2025 salary. No deal materialized through the course of Spring Training, and a potential trade is now off the table.

Speaking to reporters Montgomery about the surgery on Tuesday, Montgomery explained how it came about.

"Just haven't been recovering very well. Kind of day after that last game, came back sore and took a day off like I normally do. Next day was still a little achy, so we pushed my bullpen back. Felt decent the next day. I mean, kind of just threw through it.

"Threw a pretty good bullpen, but something was wrong, and they told me we were just going to get some imaging on it. We thought it was just kind of like a joint thing, we'd get a shot in there, clean it up, and I'd be good, and it just wasn't the case," Montgomery said.

The left-hander said the injury may have occurred as a result of trying to ramp up too quickly, and get back to the level at which he knew he could pitch. He also acknowledged that he was trying to do too much to prove himself this spring.

"I was probably just trying to throw too hard too soon. I was throwing bullpens really hard. And then get in a game and tense up, trying to make the perfect pitch, and that's never good for your arm.

"I was throwing some pretty good stuff. It was there" Montgomery said.

Montgomery will be a free agent following the 2025 season.

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