Mets $26 Million Former All-Star Predicted To Join Royals In Free Agency Surprise
Could the Kansas City Royals still be shopping for free agents?
It's been a quiet winter for the Royals in free agency, and they haven't made any significant moves since the Jonathan India-Brady Singer trade the week before Thanksgiving. While they may not have big-market spending power, they can still make some low-key signings to impact their roster.
The starting rotation could have been a finished product early in the offseason, but trading Singer, who made 32 starts last season, leaves things in a state of flux. The Royals currently have to depend on some combination of Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, and Kyle Wright to fill two spots.
If they're looking for more of a sure thing, veteran free agent Jose Quintana is an interesting fit. The soon-to-be 36-year-old isn't the dominant All-Star he once was, but he's still surprisingly effective and just threw more innings than he had in a single season since 2018.
On Monday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicted that the Royals would sign Quintana, who just finished up a two-year, $26 million contract with the New York Mets.
"Quintana still knows how to win and keep hitters off-balance," Bowden wrote. "He gave the Mets 170 1/3 innings last season, going 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA over 31 starts. His results have always been better than his raw stuff thanks to his command in and out of the zone."
"Although the Royals claim they’re fine moving Kris Bubic to the rotation to replace Singer, they don’t have much starting pitching depth and they’ll miss the 179 2/3 innings Singer provided last year. Quintana, who turns 36 in January, is the perfect fit."
Quintana, who is now an expert at pitching to contact, should be able to give his next team close to six innings per start and keep the bullpen from being too taxed. He'd also give the Royals a nice righty-lefty balance behind Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, and Michael Wacha at the top of the rotation.
Could Quintana be the perfect addition to the Kansas City rotation? That's a question for J.J. Picollo and the front office, but it's easy to see the vision.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org