Please, sir… Can I have some more?
The press conference officially announcing Jordan Montgomery’s signing with the D-backs was at Chase Field this afternoon. In it, the pitcher said he was looking to April 19th, so that’ll be the fourth circuit through the rotation. The Reno Aces season starts today in Las Vegas, so he could start there tomorrow, then April 4th, 9th and 14th, to be on rotation for the 19th. Depends whether the team thinks he will need three or four starts. [Speaking of Reno, a random note: Kevin Newman, who opted out of his minor-league contract just before the season… is back with the Aces.] According to Torey Lovullo, Montgomery will likely be in the rotation before Eduardo Rodriguez.
A couple of other notes from the presser. Scott Boras was there, and said his client told him “If I have to take something shorter term to play with a competitive team, I will.” Funny to think of the D-backs now being competitive. Been a while… Also, despite the team payroll being at a record level, there still could be additions at the trade deadline. Theo Mackie reports: “Ken Kendrick said that the D-Backs still have financial room to add at the trade deadline. Mike Hazen added that the way the offseason unfolded, with them not needing to deal from the top of their farm system, could increase their ability to be aggressive in the summer.” Stay tuned for more on that…
As for tonight, let’s hope for another low-stress, fifteen-run victory tonight, shall we? Who among us were yelling at the team during the third inning, something about saving a few runs for the rest of the series? Still, the D-backs offense looked like a very well-oiled machine, and hopefully that will carry forward tonight. Joc Pederson replaces Blaze Alexander in the DH spot, but it’s the same starting eight position players otherwise, albeit in a slightly different order, with Corbin Carroll leading off. Merrill Kelly starts on the mound, and we’ll see how he deals with the gentle warm-up which is apparently the 2024 Rockies. Even a not at his best Zac Gallen held them to one run, so let’s see how Kelly fares.