Inside The Mets

Source: Mets, Jose Quintana have mutual interest in reunion

The New York Mets have locked in on southpaw Jose Quintana to help atone for Frankie Montas' injury.

Grant Young

Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jose Quintana (62) walks in from the bullpen before playing against the Philadelphia Phillies in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Oct 9, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Jose Quintana (62) walks in from the bullpen before playing against the Philadelphia Phillies in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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On February 17, news broke that New York Mets right-handed Frankie Montas suffered a high-grade lat strain and would be sidelined for the next 6-8 weeks before he can begin ramping up for the season.

Given how this means Montas will still need an entire spring training to ramp up after being fully healed, it's clear that he'll be missing a considerable portion of the start to New York's 2025 season.

This left the Mets with an intriguing decision. They could either find someone within the organization to take Montas' place in the starting rotation or look elsewhere, perhaps through trying to find a free agent.

Read more: Insider urges Mets to re-sign depth starter amid Frankie Montas injury

In a February 17 article, Jon Heyman of the New York Post conveyed who he believed to be the perfect solution to this issue: Jose Quintana.

"Jose Quintana is a guy they all loved last year, and I can’t figure out why they haven’t brought him back already, or frankly, why he doesn’t have any job. The Mets should view this as an opportunity," Heyman wrote in the article.

It seems that the Mets would agree with Heyman's sentiment, as Pat Ragazzo of On SI wrote on X, "Source: Jose Quintana is very interested in reunion with Mets and would love to come back."

Sources say the Mets and Quintana's camp have been talking so the interest is certainly mutual here on both fronts, per Ragazzo.

Quintana signed a two-year, $22 million contract with New York in December 2022. While injuries kept Quintana sidelined for much of the 2023 season, he was a crucial part of the Mets' success in 2024, posting a 10-10 record with a 3.75 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 170.1 regular season innings pitched.

He's still unsigned this offseason, and would surely like that to change very soon. And from the looks of it, he's extremely keen on returning to Queens.

Mets insider Pat Ragazzo contributed to this report

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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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