Report: Montgomery agrees to 1-year deal to rejoin Rangers

Jordan Montgomery has agreed on a one-year deal to rejoin the Texas Rangers, three seasons after being part of their only World Series championship and while the left-hander continues rehabbing from a second elbow reconstruction surgery.

A person with knowledge of the deal confirmed the move on Wednesday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been finalized or announced.

The Dallas Morning News first reported the deal and said it was worth $1.25 million plus potential performance bonuses.

A trade-deadline acquisition from St. Louis in 2023, Montgomery went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 11 regular-season games for the Rangers before winning two AL Championship Series games, including the Game 7 clincher. He then became a free agent and didn't sign until late the following spring with Arizona, the team Texas beat in the World Series.

Montgomery went 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA with the Diamondbacks in 2024, missing nearly a month with a knee injury and finishing with 83 strikeouts in 117 innings after eventually moving to the bullpen. That deal was for $25 million, part of a contract that drew harsh public criticism from team owner Ken Kendrick after he pushed for it.

That criticism came before Montgomery exercised a $22.5 million option for 2025, then had surgery late last March. The Diamondbacks traded him to Milwaukee last July, and he became a free agent again after the season.

Montgomery first had Tommy John surgery in 2018.

Over eight big league seasons with the New York Yankees, St. Louis, Texas and Arizona, the 33-year-old lefty is 46-41 with a 4.03 ERA in 166 games (161 starts).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB