The Diamondbacks have finally made a decision regarding their starting rotation and who will be their fifth starter. John Gambadoro, co-host of the Burns and Gambo Show on Arizona Sports, reports that Ryne Nelson will remain in the rotation while struggling left-hander Jordan Montgomery will move to the bullpen.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Jordan Montgomery will be headed to the bulllpen. Ryne Nelson will stay in the starting rotation.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) August 23, 2024
The move is hardly shocking given the recent performances of the two pitchers, and the need to continue to stack wins. Nelson has a 2.73 ERA in his previous 56 innings and Montgomery has a 6.44 ERA in 19 starts this season. They are facing a critical 10-game stretch in which they play three teams still in the postseason chase between the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers. With those three series likely to determine their postseason fate, they can’t afford to have anything less than their best starting five.
Ryne Nelson got opportunities to start this year due to an injury to Eduardo RodrÃguez and Montgomery needing to ramp up in the minors. Another injury opened the door for him to remain in the rotation, where he’s second behind Brandon Pfaadt with 21 starts. While his season started rocky, he started to show signs of improving in June and has taken off in his past nine outings. The development of his cutter has been essential in offering a change-of-pace pitch off his four-seam fastball, allowing him to be aggressive in the zone. Now he’s looking like the future building block the team envisioned two seasons ago.
Up until this year Montgomery was a reliable workhorse in the middle of the Yankees, Cardinals, and Rangers rotation. However, the 2024 season has gone poorly for the left-hander, and with the Diamondbacks fastly heading toward the postseason, he’ll have five weeks to earn a postseason spot. He has some experience pitching out of the bullpen, with one regular season and two postseason appearances in relief in his career, so this isn’t completely uncharted territory.
One of the reasons for a move out of the rotation has been Montgomery’s poor performance against right-handed hitters. Righties are putting up a .327/.383/.539 slash against him, making him unplayable when teams can choose which players to put in the lineup. By moving him to the bullpen, allows manager Torey Lovullo to pick and choose more favorable situations to deploy him. Over the final five weeks of the season, Montgomery now has to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot for the postseason.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
