Publicly, New York Mets owner Steven Cohen has offered support for the team’s pitching staff since announcing the loss of Frankie Montas to a serious lat injury. However, that doesn’t mean the Mets won’t add another pitcher before the start of the regular season.
MLB insider Héctor Gómez reported on Feb. 20 that the Mets are one of five teams expressing interest in veteran Jose Quintana.
“SOURCE: Mets, Rangers, Padres, Braves and Brewers are showing interest in Jose Quintana, who was close to reaching an agreement with the Pirates, but he declined their offer,” tweeted Gomez.
“Quintana is the best starting pitcher free agent available.”
Quintana pitched for the Mets the past two seasons. He went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA, 1.250 WHIP and 135 strikeouts in 170.1 innings during 2024.
Mets Considering Bolstering Rotation With Jose Quintana: Report
This offseason, the Mets forwent re-signing Quintana and have moved forward with pitchers possessing more upside. Quintana turned 36 in January and hasn’t featured “stuff” that’s striking out hitters on a per inning basis in a few years.
But there’s risk to the way the Mets have constructed their starting rotation, especially with the loss of Montas.
“The Mets’ rotation before Montas went down had high upside, but was probably the biggest question mark surrounding the team. With Montas now out, the question mark regarding the starting staff gets bigger,” wrote SNY’s Danny Abriano.
The Mets are set to enter the 2025 season with Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes as their top three starters. All three have an ace-like pitching arsenal, but none of them have ever been a reliable starter for a full MLB season.
New York could also have David Peterson and top prospect Brandon Sproat in the rotation to begin the regular season.
Abriano estimated that it could be June before Montas is ready to make his first appearance for the Mets this season.
Other Potential External Pitching Options for Mets
Gómez’s assertion that Quintana is the best available free agent starting pitcher is probably correct. But he’s still a safer choice.
In an offseason where the Mets have made huge splashes, one can’t rule out the team adding another starter with more upside than Quintana.
The most obvious choice is San Diego Padres right-hander Dylan Cease. The 29-year-old would offer reliability as Quintana would, but Cease has also been a Cy Young finalist in two of the past three seasons.
In 2024, Cease went 14-11 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.067 WHIP and 224 strikeouts in 189.1 innings.
Cease, though, would obviously be more expensive and could cost the Mets a top prospect in a trade. Cease will make $13.75 million in 2025.
If the Mets acquired him, they’d also have to sign him to a long-term deal. Cease is set to hit unrestricted free agency next offseason.
According to Gómez, Quintana turned down a one-year, $5.5 million deal from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clearly, Quintana is seeking more than that, but his salary is likely to be closer to that figure than $14 million. The Mets also wouldn’t have to commit to anything beyond 2025 with Quintana.
In 13 MLB seasons, Quintana is 102-103 with a 3.74 ERA. He also owns a 1.276 WHIP and 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings rate in 359 MLB appearance.
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