Chicago Cubs were smart to stay away from disastrous free agent bust

Over this past offseason, a growing concern was that Jed Hoyer had not done enough to add to the Chicago Cubs' starting pitching. They added Shota Imanaga, which was genius, but the team needed another starter. A trade for Shane Bieber or adding one of the Scott Boras clients, Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell, could have been the answer. Thankfully, the team passed on both Boras clients, as both have been a trainwreck to begin their 2024 campaign.

Snell was never a realistic possibility, but Jordan Montgomery's signing got to a point where they may have had a chance. Thankfully, the price point was too high for Hoyer to stomach, and he passed. In doing so, it was a blessing in disguise that the Cubs didn't land him, as his terrible start to the campaign has the Arizona Diamondbacks fighting an uphill battle every time he's on the mound.

For the season, Montgomery has a 6.41 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. His pitching Run Value is -9, in the bottom 7% of the league. Although his FIP suggests he may be having some bad luck with positive regression on the way, he has been getting hit harder than expected and is certainly a far cry from the production he showcased the past few seasons.

Cubs are proving smart to have stayed away from Jordan Montgomery.

Although Boras' offseason fiasco forced Montgomery to sign a deal in the latest stages of free agency, he has nobody to blame but himself if he hasn't been able to ramp up due to not having a typical offseason. Nobody stops you from throwing, and although Boras had him in a bit of a bind, this is not a viable excuse for not being ready for an MLB season, especially with those start-of-the-art Boras Corp. training facilities at his clients' disposal.

This is another example of Hoyer and the Cubs' front office knowing how to do their homework when signing these guys. Their targetted approach with Imanaga and not agreeing with several players in free agency that still need to work out (Jose Abreu, anyone?) for their new respective teams has Hoyer looking all the more genius as time passes. Given what players such as Ben Brown and Javier Assad are accomplishing this season in the starting rotation, not signing Jordan Montgomery was one of the most intelligent decisions the Cubs made this past winter.

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