Jordan Montgomery Turns to Comfort of Rangers As he Rehabs Injury

The return of Jordan Montgomery gives the Texas Rangers another option for their pitching staff — just not right away.

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Jordan Montgomery was reflective when he met with Texas Rangers beat writers for the first time since he signed a one-year contract earlier this week.

It was clear he was happy to be back. On some level, he didn’t want to leave, not after he helped Texas win its first World Series title in 2023. In his own words, “you win a World Series it's going to be kind you wanna run it back.”

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But Texas didn’t pursue him hard in free agency. Montgomery went looking for a bigger deal. He landed in Arizona and lost his way. His velocity dropped almost right away and by last March of last year, he needed Tommy John surgery. The Diamondbacks traded him to Milwaukee at the deadline, he became a free agent and the Rangers signed him for almost nothing.

There were no hard feelings on his part. Just a desire to get back on the field and contribute.

“Definitely being here and just kind of having that comfortability, my feet under me, having people around me that know me, it really adds a lot of value,” Montgomery said.

Jordan Montgomery's Timeline

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Montgomery is about 11 months out from his Tommy John surgery, which he called a total reconstruction along with an internal brace. The surgery was performed by Rangers surgeon Dr. Keith Meister. He won’t throw until next week, when he’ll throw from 120 feet. After that, it’s throwing off a half-mound and then a full mound.

He’s uncertain when he could return. He said it could be before the All-Star break or after the All-Star break. Mid-July would put him at 16 months since the surgery. He admitted that he was on the heavy side when he joined the Rangers in July of 2023, around 260 pounds. In the last year he’s gone from 248 pounds to 240, but said he’s lost 10% body fat and has built muscle, especially in the core.

He said he had other offers from other teams, ones that were even multiple years. But the comfort of returning to Texas won out. And, even with changes this offseason, Montgomery still has connections to new personnel. Manager Skip Schumaker was on the coaching staff in St. Louis when Montgomery was there. Catcher Kyle Higashioka was his catcher for six years with the New York Yankees.

“I love me some Higgy,” Montgomery said with a chuckle.

Schumaker remembers Montgomery being clutch for the Cardinals in 2022 when they made the playoffs.

“He was phenomenal then,” Schumaker said. “I didn't really know much about him other than he was in New York and he came over and dominated for us, that kind of second-half push to get into the playoffs,” Schumaker said.

Texas is hoping for something similar from Montgomery this season. He’s the second potential starter that will begin the season on the injured list, the other being left-hander Cody Bradford. Both were teammates in 2023.

Strangely for Montgomery, so much has changed for him in two years, but Texas feels like a north star of sorts. In fact, he’s been reaching out to several teammates on a regular basis, including pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.

“I've been talking to Evo for a while being a two TJ [Tommy John] guy, meaning we’re really close,” Montgomery said. “So just talking about how he felt on the bad days. I mean it's a roller coaster sometimes when you're in the trenches of it. But then I texted and I was like, ‘Hey you got a locker open beside you.’”

Not anymore. It belongs to Montgomery now.