The Texas Rangers are fresh off winning the organization's first-ever World Series title in 2023. Part of the reason why they popped champagne in November was that they were willing to drop a lot of money on the right mixture of players via free agency the past couple of winters.
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They've been pretty quiet so far this offseason, but that's mostly because there has been some uncertainty regarding their local television deal and how it could impact the team's cash flow. Despite this, there's been an expectation across the industry that free-agent starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery will eventually land in Arlington before the 2024 season is underway.
Texas acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline, and the southpaw was an integral piece toward the club winning a championship. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reiterated on January 14 that everyone expects Montgomery to return to Texas. But just in case the southpaw gets tempted to go elsewhere as his free agency drags on, Arlington-based Hurtado Barbecue is offering him free barbecue for life if he re-signs with the Rangers.
"We're going to give you free barbecue for life," owner Brandon Hurtado said in a video, which was relayed by Nightengale. "Not a joke, I'm dead serious. Jordan, if you come back and pitch for the Rangers this season, you'll never pay for Hurtado Barbecue again."
That's a hard offer to pass up, isn't it? And even if Montgomery hasn't seriously been considering other teams because he wants to stay in Texas, this is just the cherry on top.
The lefty started 11 regular-season games after getting acquired by Texas last summer. Across those 67.2 innings, he posted a 4-2 record with a 2.79 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 58 strikeouts. He also received his first legitimate taste of postseason baseball this past October. He appeared in six games (five starts) for Texas, which resulted in a 2.90 ERA in 31 innings of work.
