The New York Mets have experienced great roster turnover this offseason, adding Juan Soto to the offense and Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and Sean Manaea to round out the pitching staff. While they would love to continue to add solid starting pitching, they could lose a valuable starter this winter.
The Mets might lose Jose Quintana this offseason
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden made a bold prediction that 2016 All-Star Jose Quintana will sign with the Kansas City Royals this offseason. The left-handed pitcher made 31 starts with the Mets last season and pitched to a 3.75 ERA and recorded 135 strikeouts in 170.1 innings pitched.
“He’d be a solid signing for the Royals as a rotation replacement for Brady Singer, whom they traded to the Reds in November,” wrote Bowden. “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.”
The Mets have done a lot to enhance their pitching this winter. It was what was needed to supplement the Soto signing, as pitching was a great weakness to last year’s NLCS squad.
Quintana would give the Royals a top rotation in the AL
If Quintana does in fact leave the Mets, going to the American League would make the loss less painful for New York, as they wouldn’t have to deal with him in a playoff setting unless it’s in the World Series. The Royals are coming off a season in which they greatly improved and reached the ALDS, where they ultimately fell short against the Yankees.
However, their dominant pitching from Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans helped them get past the Orioles in the Wild Card series. Adding Quintana to the mix would give them a steady veteran arm who would further deepen their already very strong rotation.
Ultimately, there is still a lot of offseason left, and while a reunion with the Mets isn’t entirely ruled, they may have to move on from their steady left-hander in 2025.
