The Diamondbacks have received Cam Ward Jersey recent trade interest from a couple teams in , John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM in Phoenix. Theres no indication that a pre-Opening Day deal is likely, but its notable those conversations have continued with the regular season eight days away. As has been the case all offseason, the contract is the big impediment. Montgomery will play this year on a $22.5MM salary. Thats a sum no team was going to take in full. Its especially difficult to offload a significant portion of the money at this point. Most teams have neared or reached the payroll at which theyre willing to spend before the season. Thats reflected in the comparatively low costs of free agent starting pitching. and both of whom are coming off better seasons than Montgomery just had signed one-year deals worth le s than $6MM after camp opened. , and remain unsigned and are presumably looking at even le ser guarantees. It makes a Spring Training deal difficult to pull off. Other teams would presumably want Arizona to pay Montgomerys contract down to a few million dollars while accepting a middling return. The Diamondbacks havent shown that level of desperation to deal the veteran lefty, though theyd clearly welcome an opportunity to make a move. Montgomery pitched his way out of last years rotation. He finished the year with a 6.23 earned run average over 117 innings. His strikeout rate fell from roughly league average to a career-worst 15.6% clip. Things werent quite so bleak on a per-pitch basis. Montgomery got whiffs on 12.3% of his offerings, which is in line with his career average. Hed posted three consecutive sub-4.00 ERA showings with solid peripherals between 2021-23. Montgomery didnt sign until Opening Day last year after a frustrating free agent sequence, presumably leading to some level of rust. The context provides hope he can at least recapture back-of-the-rotation form, but he wont have a path to the Opening Day rotation in the desert. Arizona added to a staff that already included , , and . Righty might be pushed to Triple-A to begin the season. Nelson had a 3.23 ERA in the second half last season. The Snakes stuck with him in the rotation down the stretch while pushing Montgomery to the bullpen. Even if he begins the season in the minors, Nelson will probably be the first choice if any of Arizonas top five starters suffer an injury. Montgomery has more than enough service time to refuse a minor league a signment, so hes likely to work in long relief if he begins the season with the Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old southpaw would presumably welcome a trade that gives him a clearer path back to rotation work. Montgomery will be a free agent next offseason. His future earning power will be greater if he pitches well as a starter rather than spending most or all of the season in low-leverage relief. Arizona owner Ken Kendrick was also publicly critical of the signing last fall, saying it was a horrible decision to have invested that money in a guy that performed as poorly as he did . (Kendrick directed the criticism for the move at himself rather than the front office, saying he pushed GM Mike Hazen to pursue the deal.) Montgomery has only taken the ball twice this spring. His first start couldnt have gone much worse. The Reds blitzed him for five runs on two hits, two walks and a hit batter. He recorded only one out. Montgomery pitched much more effectively this afternoon, working 2 2/3 scorele s frames with a couple strikeouts against the Rockies. Jay Mcclement Jersey