Rangers land another starting pitcher in big trade
Sep 2, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (48) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
The Texas Rangers are loading up their starting rotation in hopes of making a deep postseason run.
The Rangers on Saturday landed Max Scherzer in a blockbuster trade with the New York Mets. Then on Sunday, they acquired left-hander Jordan Montgomery from the St. Louis Cardinals. Texas also got right-handed reliever Chris Stratton in the deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
Rangers receive: LHP Jordan Montgomery and RHR Chris Stratton
Cardinals receive: IF Thomas Saggese, RHP Tekoah Roby and LHP John King
The deal is done. The Rangers get another starter and another reliever. They are all in.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2023
The moves make it clear that the Rangers are going all-in. They entered Sunday with a record of 60-45 and in first place in the AL West despite not having Jacob deGrom, who is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Both Scherzer and Montgomery should be able to help the Rangers down the stretch.
Montgomery is 6-9 with a 3.42 ERA in 21 starts this season. He has a career ERA of 3.77.
The Cardinals also traded reliever Jordan Hicks to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, which is not surprising given what president John Mozeliak recently said about the team’s trade deadline plans.
