José Quintana Injury Provides Opportunity For These Mets Pitchers

With José Quintana sidelined with no timetable for a return, these Mets starters will have a chance to crack the Opening Day rotation

One of the newest Mets pitchers, José Quintana, has been sidelined after enduring a stress fracture to his fifth rib.

The Mets announced the injury on Monday, and Quintana will be heading back to New York for further imaging.

There is currently not a timetable for return, but when you factor in healing time and then having Quintana ramp up after that, it doesn't seem as though Opening Day is really feasible for his return.

Thankfully for the Mets, they have some options in case Quintana is out for an extended amount of time. Two in particular, David Peterson and Tylor Megill, should now get ample chances to crack the rotation to begin the season.

Peterson, 27, is currently dealing with a minor foot injury after being hit with a comebacker during his outing on Saturday. After an initial X-ray was inconclusive, a CT scan ruled it as a contusion.

That injury will leave the lefty day-to-day, which is great news for New York, especially after the Quintana news.

The fourth-year MLB veteran, Peterson had his best season to date for the Mets in 2022.

Pitching between the rotation and bullpen when he was up with the big club, Peterson pitched to a 3.83 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 3.31 xFIP and was worth 1.4 fWAR in 28 games (19 starts).

The former first round pick also had a career high 10.7 K/9, a whiff percentage that was in the 81st percentile according to Baseball Savant, a strikeout percentage in the 79th percentile and had elite extension (96th percentile).

Should Quintana miss time, Peterson would be a serviceable filler in his place. With the Mets also exploring a potential six-man rotation at some point, it's possible Peterson just remains in the mix going forward.

Another option the Mets will likely consider is Tylor Megill.

Megill, 27, had a down year in 2022 after a strong rookie season the year prior.

The California native got off to a strong start in 2022, acting as the team's Opening Day starter after an injury to Jacob deGrom, pitching five innings in the combined no-hitter in April, and flashing some high velocity on his fastball.

However, Megill went down in May with biceps inflammation, came back in June and suffered a shoulder injury, and didn't return until September, where he pitched primarily out of the bullpen.

All told, Megill had a 5.13 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 3.35 xFIP and 0.6 fWAR in 47 1/3 innings.

Megill, now healthy, has reportedly been following Max Scherzer's sage advice of not maxing out his velocity in order to maintain long-term health (via the New York Post).

Should Megill return to pitching like he did when he first debuted in 2021, or how he pitched to begin 2022, the Mets will have yet another weapon as a starting pitching option.

It will be interesting to follow how Peterson and Megill respond to the rotation opening and how the competition will shake out.

Read More:

- Mets' Jose Quintana Leaves Game With Side Tightness

- Mets to use Occasional 6-man Rotation During Season

- Mets Closer Edwin Diaz's World Baseball Classic Limitations

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