After Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea suffered injuries, many thought a Jose Quintana reunion with the New York Mets made sense to many. That won’t happen now, as FanSided’s Robert Murray reported the lefty veteran signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.
David Stearns didn’t have any legitimate interest in re-signing Quintana. Although he pitched well in 2024, he missed half the 2023 season. At his age, the Mets were skeptical of retaining him for 2025. In addition, New York doesn’t want to block the potential debut of Brandon Sproat by adding another starter.
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Mets feel like they got the best out of Jose Quintana and have high hopes for others
Carlos Mendoza’s rotation features Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and Clay Holmes as locks. Senga, who pitched one game in 2024, pitched to a 2.98 ERA in 2023. If he’s healthy, he’ll be reliable. Peterson recorded a 2.90 ERA last season and pitched excellently in the postseason. New York is experimenting with Holmes as a starter, but he’s shown great signs in spring training. Across two starts this spring, the former reliever has allowed one hit and zero runs.
Mendoza hopes to use a six-man rotation. The Mets wanted Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn, and Griffin Canning as depth pieces. Plans have changed with injuries to Montas and Manaea. They could opt to use all three depth pieces to start the regular season or feature a traditional five-man rotation. Luckily for Mendoza and New York, Manaea won’t be sidelined for too long. He expects to return in April, so they have options.
With the hopes Sproat performs well in Triple-A, New York expects the 24-year-old to join the rotation mid-season. Sproat dominated in his first spring start, recording two perfect innings. His fastball is lights out and features five other pitches. The Florida native has the potential to be a front-end starter for the Mets.
With their hopes of having Sproat come up and Manaea’s return, it wouldn’t make sense to re-sign Quintana. Stearns already added depth pieces in case of injuries, and his plan is already in use. On top of that, Montas hopes to be back mid-season. Without bringing back Quintana, they also have the flexibility to trade for an arm at the deadline.
New York’s rotation isn’t the strongest on paper, but their lineup has enough threats to supplement it. They have the same lineup that was just two wins away from a World Series appearance, without Jose Iglesias and with Juan Soto. Stearns also added a key bullpen arm in AJ Minter. Losing Quintana to the Brewers might sting some fans, but it doesn’t sting Stearns and the Mets.