Did Jordan Montgomery Just Show Rangers He’s Ready to Return to Majors?

ARLINGTON — Jordan Montgomery may be tired of being in the minor leagues. Or, maybe, he’s just ready for the Texas Rangers to call him up.

Montgomery can’t talk his way into an activation. But how he pitched on Saturday may be the proof Texas needs that his time has arrived.

Montgomery bounced back from an awful rehab outing last week with a performance that in many cases means a pitcher is ready to return to the Majors from Tommy John rehab. He checked some significant boxes in his outing against Albuquerque on Saturday.

Jordan Montgomery’s Latest Rehab Game

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker walks to the pitcher's mound during a game. — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Montgomery was supposed to pitch on Friday, but Triple-A Round Rock’s game was rained out so they played a doubleheader on Saturday, with Montgomery getting the start in the first game.

In his last outing on July 18 the left-hander was rocked, as he gave up seven hits and six earned runs in 2.1 innings. It was his most ineffective rehab outing since he started on June 21. Texas was hoping to see a bounce-back from him. The Rangers got it.

He threw 4.1 innings, which was his longest outing by innings so far. He threw four innings on July 12. He gave up five hits, one earned run and two walks against three strikeouts. More important was the pitch count.

Montgomery threw 75 pitches, 44 of which were strikes. The 75 pitches is a magic number of sorts for starting pitchers. It’s traditionally seen as the number that a starting pitcher is “stretched out” enough to make a Major League start. That could be good news for the Rangers.

The hope was that one of the key pieces of the 2023 World Series champions could be ready sometime in the second half of the season, perhaps in late July or August. After seven rehab starts, Montgomery has the pitch count necessary to check off a key box in his path back to the Majors.

The Rangers also have a need. Jack Leiter remains out after ankle surgery and Cal Quantrill is growing more ineffective as a stopgap. Texas really has few options beyond him for the rotation. Being able to activate Montgomery, perhaps as early as next weekend, would give the Rangers some assurance they have more starting pitching coverage.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker made it clear on Friday that Montgomery won’t be rushed. The same goes for another left-hander Cody Bradford, who is probably a couple of starts away from being ready. He made his rehab start on Friday.

But if Montgomery has the pitch count necessary to be considered ready and is coming off an effective outing, is that “rushing?” The Rangers will have to decide that this week.

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