Top 100 prospect Montgomery dishes on trade to White Sox
David Adler
@_dadlerBraden Montgomery, MLB Pipeline's No. 54 overall prospect, joined MLB Network's "Hot Stove" on Thursday to talk about being traded to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet blockbuster.
The 21-year-old outfielder, who was the Red Sox's first-round Draft pick last July, was sent to Chicago on Wednesday as part of the four-prospect package that landed Crochet in Boston.
"It's been crazy," said Montgomery, who is now the White Sox No. 5 prospect. "Just the whole past 24 hours has been wild. Just a whirlwind of emotions. It's been exciting, obviously, but yeah, I don't really know how to feel yet."
Montgomery was drafted by Boston with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2024 Draft, but the White Sox were actually one of the teams he thought might draft him.
"I had heard that the White Sox were really interested, they really loved me," Montgomery said. "But obviously with the Draft, you never know how things shake out."
He was at the batting cage when he found out the news that he was being traded. Montgomery is a switch-hitter, and he was the top switch-hitting prospect in his Draft class.
"I started when I was 10," Montgomery said. "Natural righty. But now it feels as if I'm natural on both sides, just from how long I've been doing it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. … I enjoy trying to find the best swing on both sides of the plate."
Montgomery is still waiting to make his pro debut, because he fractured his right ankle while playing in the 2024 College World Series Super Regionals with Texas A&M. But he said that he's ready to go with the White Sox.
"I'm doing great," Montgomery said. "I went down to Fort Myers, Florida, to work with the Red Sox staff [after being drafted], and they were awesome. They got me back on my feet, and I'm moving around, feeling great again, back up to sprinting and hitting and everything, and ready for regular gameplay."