Owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ken Kendrick, admitted last offseason that he had a hand in the team’s roster construction and that he was to blame for the team’s fatal drafting of left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.
After signing for a$ 25 million deal with an option to return in 2025, Montgomery recorded a 6.23 ERA in 25 appearances. The Diamondbacks missed the playoffs on Monday after losing a three-way playoff with the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets despite having the most goes in MLB this year.
If someone wants to blame someone for Jordan Montgomery being a Diamondback, you’re talking to the person who should be held accountable because I brought it up, Kendrick said on Arizona Sports ‘ Burns &amp, Gambo.

” I pushed for it. They came to a decision. When he was signed right after the conclusion of spring training, it was n’t in our game plan, and in retrospect, it was a terrible choice to have put that money into a player who did as ill as he did. It’s our biggest error this year from a skills aspect, and I’m the perpetrator of that”.
It is well known in the sports industry that sporting owners follow the advice of the professionals they hire to execute trades and agreements because they believe their own business acumen can lead to productive sports transactions. However, brain honchos often reveal their errors in front of the public. More generally, public managers take the fall, yet if they protested doomed offers behind the scenes.
After Arizona won the World Series next year, Kendrick may have gotten away of himself. With the Arizona looking for movement help to consolidate their odds of a strong October work, Montgomery approached the lefties with one of their largest per-year deal offers of all time. Montgomery pitched to a 3.48 ERA from 2021 to 2023.
Montgomery, who did not agree to a commitment until after flower training began, was one of the free agents Scott Boras represented last offseason. Due to the delayed ramp-up, he did n’t make his debut with the club until April 19 when he signed with the Diamondbacks on March 29. He did so the day before Arizona’s season began. In mid-April, Montgomery fired Boras as his representative.
After Kendrick’s responses Monday, general manager Mike Hazen said he even deserved responsible for the ill-fated Montgomery walk, calling it a “group selection”. He further stated that he believes Montgomery will improve in 2025, which appears to be confirmation that the pitcher would choose to exercise his player option, which is worth$ 25 million.
” Thoughts come from outside, and I am finally liable to say no to a lot of points, or indeed to a lot of things”, Hazen said to reporters at a press conference. ” ]Kendrick ] presents me with ideas and options sometimes. … We kick around a lot of things. Ultimately, it’s my job to make decisions for this organization”.
Kendrick, 81, has owned the Diamondbacks since 1998 when the franchise first entered MLB.