Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick took responsibility for signing left-hander Jordan Montgomery during a radio appearance on Monday, all the while describing it as a “horrible decision.” Kendrick, who appeared on 98.7 FM’s “The Burns & Gambo Show,” said that he was the one who pushed the baseball operations department to sign Montgomery to a one-year contract for the 2024 season with a vesting option for next season.
“Let me say it the best way I can say it: If anyone wants to blame anyone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re talking to the guy who should be blamed,” Kendrick said. “Because I brought it to their attention. I pushed for it. They agreed to it.”
Montgomery’s contract called for him to earn $25 million in 2024 with a vesting player option for next season.
“It wasn’t in our game plan,” Kendrick added. “You know when he was signed, right at the end of spring training. And looking back, in hindsight, a horrible decision, to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did. It was our biggest mistake this season from a talent standpoint. And I’m the perpetrator of that.”