ESPN: Diamondbacks’ Walker, Montgomery primed for intriguing free agencies

Major League Baseball’s free agency brings a sense of excitement every offseason.

Some years we’ve seen a plethora of $300 million players commit to new uniforms. Some years we’ve seen duds, where no one of interest really brings anything to the table.

Last year, the “Boras Four” dominated free agency affairs with its prolonged suspense on where sluggers Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, as well as southpaws Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, would wind up.

This year, New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto looks to bring in one of the biggest contracts in MLB history. He is represented by Scott Boras, one of baseball’s most lucrative agents. The biggest contract Boras has negotiated is Bryce Harper’s 13-year, $330 million deal in February 2019. Soto is primed to clear that mark.

Outside of Soto and Corbin Burnes, who’s projected to earn north of $200 million this offseason, a plethora of free agents — including Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Christian Walker — look to strike big deals this winter.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel broke down the league’s best free agents this offseason into four tiers based on how much money he predicts they’ll earn.

Christian Walker’s free agency value

McDaniel predicts that Walker will earn somewhere between $40 and $80 million.

Before he landed on the IL with a left oblique strain, Walker was putting up some hefty power numbers, recording 23 home runs and 71 RBIs before getting hurt in late July.

He was on a tear up until that point, notably getting snubbed from the All-Star game despite having better numbers than both NL All-Star reserve Pete Alonso. ESPN even labeled him as one of the league’s most underrated players.

Walker is in the $40-$80 million tier alongside power hitters Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández, who’ve both surprised in the power department thus far in 2024.

Walker is 33 years old, and although a lengthy contract is unlikely, he’s expected to earn a good amount based on his performance over the past two seasons. Since the start of 2022, Walker is slashing .251/.332/.484. with 93 home runs and 268 RBIs.

With a lack of first basemen in the D-backs’ minor league system, it may be in the team’s best interest to look into resigning Walker.

Is Jordan Montgomery likely to return to the Diamondbacks?

When Jordan Montgomery signed his one-year, $25 million deal with the D-backs in February, it included a vesting player option for 2025.

If Montgomery chooses to stay with the team next season, his salary for 2025 depends on how many starts he makes, McDaniel explains.

Montgomery will make either $22.5 million or $25 million next season, depending on whether he makes 23 starts this year. It makes sense for him to return to Arizona at a good number and hope to bounce back and hit the market again.

Montgomery’s inaugural season with the Diamondbacks hasn’t been what he’d hoped. He’s recorded a 6.44 ERA in 95 innings this season with 67 strikeouts and was just booted from the starting rotation amid the rise of Ryne Nelson.

This is a significant downgrade from his 2023 performance, where he recorded a 3.20 ERA in 188 innings with St. Louis and Texas, helping the latter win its first World Series.

He recently showed disapproval toward Boras, his agent, telling the Boston Herald in a story that posted on Friday.

“I had a Zoom call with (the Red Sox), that’s really all I know,” he said. “I don’t know, obviously Boras kind of butchered it, so I’m just trying to move on from the offseason and try to forget it.”

Montgomery has no reason to turn down his player option and will work toward a rebound 2025 campaign to bolster his value when he hits the market again.