Chicago Cubs: Was Mike Montgomery upset over losing his starting spot to Yu Darvish?

It seemed inevitable the Cubs made a huge splash to strengthen their pitching, but did it ruffle some feathers along the way?

The Chicago Cubs finally closed in on their biggest free agent acquisition in a couple of years, bringing in former Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yu Darvish a few days ago. While most agree this was a good move in order to strengthen their starting pitching, one guy may not be too excited.

Mike Montgomery was thrown into a starting role due to injuries in the rotation last year and performed surprisingly well. Was he a stud? Absolutely not. But, he did prove to be a valuable asset should the Cubs ever get that low on pitching again.

Montgomery had a rough time in the playoffs last season, posting a 16.62 ERA in just over four innings. It seemed obvious that he wasn’t quite ready for that kind of stage.

Following the news of the Darvish signing, Montgomery told ESPN how he felt regarding the situation.

“He’s a really good pitcher. He’s got unbelievable stuff so I’m excited.

“And yeah, my role is what it is. I know what it is,” Montgomery said. “Right now, it’s … for me to get ready to be at my best in whatever role that might be.”

Although it appears Montgomery took the high road, giving Darvish credit, there seems to be a feeling that he could be slightly upset going back to the bullpen.

Right now, it would be surprising to see Montgomery shipped elsewhere. He has meant a lot to the Cubs over the last few seasons, especially during their World Series run. A trade would be good news for Montgomery being able to pursue a starting role, however should the Cubs lose him, that would be a large role to fill in their bullpen.

Once the offseason began, Montgomery was vocal about his desire to remain a starting pitcher. The Chicago Sun Times did a great piece detailing his thoughts on staying in a starting rotation and how going back and forth between the bullpen and rotation has been hard on him.

Though he may be frustrated in his current role, he did acknowledge that he enjoys being part of the Cubs organization.

“It’s fun to be on a winning team. It’s tough to beat,” Montgomery went on. “Guys might have to do things a little differently, and you know, that includes me. Right now, I’m just looking forward to getting out there and competing.”

Montgomery was asked about how much the transparency of Joe Maddon and Theo Epstein meant to him during this whole process.

“I think it’s been huge. There’s times where you get frustrated. But, to have talks with Joe and Theo, it really is the biggest factor … For me, I think, it just comes down to being on a winning team. [That is] is number one, the main goal and winning the World Series and competing for one,” he said.

Regardless of where Montgomery ends up, I think it is safe to say he is doing his absolute best to remain a class act. There is no doubt that there may be some frustration deep down, but Cubs fans have to appreciate his willingness to have a team-first mentality.