MLB report: Mets release Phil Bickford; Diamondbacks agree with Jordan Montgomery, AP source says
Mets pitcher Phil Bickford pauses on the mound during the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Yankees Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: AP/Jeff Roberson
The Mets released reliever Phil Bickford on Tuesday, making official the most likely outcome after they designated him for assignment last week.
That transaction means Bickford suffered a version of what J.D. Davis went through with the Giants a few weeks ago, a financial short straw based on the fine print of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union.
Bickford was due to make $900,000 this season. But because he won that salary in an arbitration hearing against the Mets, it was not fully guaranteed. Now that he has been cut, he’ll get 45 days of termination pay — about $217,00.
Had Bickford accepted the Mets’ January offer of $815,000, which would have meant them avoiding arbitration, that amount would have been fully guaranteed.
Davis’ experience was more drastic. He had a $6.9 million salary, decided in arbitration, but received $1.1 in termination pay after the Giants released him.
Acquired from the Dodgers at the trade deadline last year, Bickford entered spring training competing for a spot in the Mets’ bullpen. But when they decided he wouldn’t win out, they removed him from the roster to make room for the freshly signed J.D. Martinez. — Tim Healey
AP: D-backs add Montgomery
The Arizona Diamondbacks and pitcher Jordan Montgomery have agreed on a $25 million, one-year contract with a vesting option for 2025, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The option for next year can become guaranteed to Montgomery if he makes at least 10 starts this season.
Montgomery pitched for Texas against Arizona in the World Series last year, and his addition bulks up the defending National League champions' rotation just days before the regular season begins. Montgomery should slide into the No. 3 or No. 4 spot once he's ready for game action, joining Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez, who signed an $80 million, four-year contract with the Diamondbacks earlier in the offseason.
Montgomery, who turned 31 in December, went into free agency for the first time as a World Series champion. The 6-6 lefthander played a significant role in Texas' first title after being traded at the deadline for the second year in a row.
While the Rangers surely would have liked to bring back Montgomery, they weren’t in position to pay the increased cost to re-sign him. He made $10 million last season.
Texas had a final payroll of $242.1 million for its championship season, and paid a luxury tax penalty for the first time, though it owed only $1.8 million in tax.
Montgomery is 38-34 with a 3.68 ERA in 141 career games games (140 starts) with the Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Rangers. — AP
Rockies finalize Tovar deal
Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and the Colorado Rockies finalized a seven-year, $63.5 million contract on Tuesday, a deal that includes a team option for 2031 that if exercised would boost the agreement to $84 million for eight seasons.
The 22-year-old hit .253 with 15 homers, 73 RBIs and 11 stolen bases last season. His .988 fielding percentage set a record for rookie shortstop, topping .987 by the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki in 2007 . . . Infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles one week after the 32-year-old was released from a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Kemp batted .209 with five homers, 27 RBIs and a career-high 15 stolen bases last year in 124 games for Oakland. Kemp has a .238 career average with 35 homers and 184 RBIs in eight seasons with Houston (2016-19), the Chicago Cubs (2019) and the A's (2020-23) . . . St. Louis Cardinals centerfielder Dylan Carlson will begin the season on the injured list with a sprained left shoulder, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. — AP
