Here is what I'd recommend Mr. Gigem and if you recommend this and they snag Monty, you owe me.
This clause:
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/competitive-balance-taxQuote:
(Note: If a player signs a contract extension that doesn't kick in until a later season, his AAV for the purposes of the CBT doesn't change until the new deal begins.)
Sign Monty to a $5M contract for 2024.
The following day, extend his contract for 5 years @ $170M. That'd end up being $175M for 6 yrs ($29M).
Impact would be $5M for 2024, well within our CBT limit. He'd hit $34M/yr for the next 5 years.
Scherzer has a $13.0M impact on CBT for 2024.
Heaney has a $12.5M impact on CBT for 2024.
That's the $25.5 you need to fund Monty in 2025.
Even though Ohtani deferred a ton of money, he still hit the Dodgers CBT pretty hard.
Montgomery's wife is going to be a dermatologist, IIRC... so, he probably doesn't need the money long-term as much as maybe near term. Some Docs might say they don't make much... and compared to a MLB SP... probably true.