Scott Boras lost the 2023-24 MLB offseason, and now he’s lost Jordan Montgomery as a client.
Montgomery, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, has dropped Boras as his agent and hired Joel Wolfe and Nick Chanock of the Wasserman agency, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
Montgomery was one of four big-name Boras clients who entered last offseason with nine-figure demands, waited until at least late February to sign and exited with what amounted to a prove-it deal. The other three players were Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs and Blake Snell and Matt Chapman of the San Francisco Giants.
The case of Montgomery was particularly rough for Boras. The southpaw entered the offseason with his value at an all-time high after a star turn with the Texas Rangers. A trade deadline acquisition from the St. Louis Cardinals, Montgomery was a vital part of the Rangers’ World Series run.
Fangraphs’ median projection for a potential Montgomery contract was five years and $105 million. Boras reportedly asked for at least $170 million from teams, leading to a completely dormant market.
The end result was Montgomery signing a one-year, $25 million deal with the Diamondbacks, two days before MLB’s domestic Opening Day. Because of the long wait for his deal, Montgomery hasn’t pitched in an MLB game so far this season. Instead, he made a start at Triple-A Reno on Tuesday to prepare for his Arizona debut.
Montgomery will also have to make at least 10 MLB starts just to be able to opt out and re-test the market next offseason.
So none of that reflected well on Boras, who remains one of the most divisive figures in baseball due to his unsparing approach to free agency. He now won’t benefit from Montgomery potentially signing a larger deal this winter, though he’ still have plenty of clients on the open market with potentially Bellinger, Snell and Chapman (assuming they stay) as well as Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Corbin Burnes.
This was also hardly the biggest blow an agent received on Thursday.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
