Inside The Mets

Jose Quintana Projected to Land With Guardians; Should Mets Reunite?

Is there a chance the New York Mets will try to re-sign Jose Quintana this offseason?

Grant Young

Aug 20, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) watches from the dugout in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Aug 20, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) watches from the dugout in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
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Jose Quintana was a crucial component to the New York Mets' success in 2024.

He posted a 10-10 record with a 3.75 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 170.1 innings pitched during the 2024 regular season, then followed that up with a 3.14 ERA in three postseason starts.

Now Quintana is an unrestricted free agent. And in a February 5 article, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicted that he would join the Cleveland Guardians' rotation.

"A lefty who has quietly posted a sub-3.50 ERA while not dishing out many Ks over the past three years, Jose Quintana is pretty much a five-years-older version of what Jordan Montgomery was last offseason—right down to the part where he played a key role in a postseason run right before hitting free agency," Miller wrote.

"For Quintana's sake, though, here's hoping the prolonged free-agency process doesn't result in a season anywhere near as disastrous as it did for Montgomery.

"Quintana should only cost a fraction of what Monty did, though, and 'cost a fraction' is the Cleveland Guardians' middle name," he continued.

"For a team that's supposed to make the playoffs, Cleveland's starting rotation is kind of awful. FanGraphs' projections of the various SP depth charts put it at 27th-best, ahead of only the Rockies, White Sox and Athletics."

Miller added, "Meanwhile, in 11 career appearances at Progressive Field—most of them during his early days with the White Sox, but just go with it—Quintana has a 1.95 ERA. And at an estimated salary of a little over $8 million, adding him would bring Cleveland's estimated Opening Day tax payroll to around $124 million.

"Considering the Guardians ended last season at $144 million, that should be agreeable, right?"

Given Quintana's success in Queens, the Mets could still try and re-sign him this offseason. However, since they've already added several starting pitchers to their rotation and seem to be saving money for Pete Alonso, the southpaw heading to Cleveland or another MLB team seems a more likely outcome.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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