Proposed San Francisco Giants Trade Would Land Left-Hander From NL West Rival

After signing Justin Verlander to a deal on Tuesday, the San Francisco Giants might not believe they need another starter. However, having more pitching is never a bad thing, and with the expectations of them at least being somewhat in the mix for Roki Sasaki, it wouldn't be surprising to see them get involved with others.

On the free agency market, there aren't many more starters for the Giants to pursue.

If they want an ace-caliber arm, they'll have to hope they win the Sasaki sweepstakes.

That's much easier said than done, given he has nearly every contending team knocking on his door and has met with multiple of them, but there's reason to believe he could be interested in playing in San Francisco.

However, if the Giants miss out on the right-hander, which wouldn't be surprising, they'll have to turn elsewhere. Whether that's on the trade front or free agency market, San Francisco has a few directions it could head if it believes another starter would help.

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports proposed an interesting trade scenario, linking them to left-hander Jordan Montgomery.

"Montgomery picked up his player option after the World Series and is owed $22.5 million in 2025. It may be impossible for the D-backs to unload that in its entirety, forcing them to eat some money to make a trade happen ... I like the Giants as a fit. For both the team and Montgomery. Intra-division trades are always tricky, plus San Francisco made a run at Burnes and might not want to trade for Arizona's cast-offs, but Montgomery's a fit for them and their ballpark, and vice versa."

Montgomery has had many bright spots throughout his career, but at the same time, he's had a few rough moments, too.

That makes it challenging to evaluate him as a whole.

He owns a 4.03 career ERA and posted a 6.23 ERA a year ago. However, from 2021 to 2023, he was one of the better starters in the league.

He isn't a top-10 pitcher by any means, but when Montgomery is at his best, he's a serviceable No. 2 or 3 option in a good rotation.

The Arizona Diamondbacks might not want to trade in the division, but they've made it known that they want to move Montgomery.

If they'd be willing to eat some of his contract and take back an average prospect haul, which is what the Giants should only be willing to offer, there could be some upside in taking a risk on him and hoping he returns to his old form.