Defending NL champion Diamondbacks make huge addition to pitching staff

Montgomery has been one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in baseball over the past three seasons and is a huge upgrade to a Diamondbacks staff that now has three potential front-line starters in it.

He spent the 2023 season split between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, helping the latter to its first ever World Series championship (by beating the Diamondbacks).  

In 32 starts split between the two teams he posted a 3.20 ERA and struck out 166 batters in 188 innings. That ERA ranked eighth in the Major Leagues among qualified starters. 

Arizona's pitching staff finished the 2023 season 20th in the league in ERA so it could definitely use an upgrade to the rotation. But now that they have Montgomery, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly at the top and that is as formidable of a top-three as any team in the league will run out there this season. 

It also continues to make the National League West a potential powerhouse division. The Dodgers were already one of the best teams in the league and reloaded this offseason with several big-money additions. 

The San Francisco Giants added Blake Snell to their rotation earlier this month, while the San Diego Padres added Dylan Cease in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. 

The only team in the division that does not seem to have at least a fighting chance at a playoff spot is the Colorado Rockies.