Mets Rumors: José Quintana Agrees to 2-Year, $26M Contract After Stint with Cardinals

The New York Mets reportedly came to terms on a contract with free-agent starting pitcher José Quintana on Wednesday.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the deal is worth $26 million over two years.

Quintana, 33, is an 11-year MLB veteran who split last season between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals after previous stints with the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants.

In 32 starts split between the Pirates and Cards in 2022, Quintana enjoyed one of the best statistical seasons of his career.

The lefty posted a career-best 2.93 ERA while going 6-7 and compiling a 1.21 WHIP and 137 strikeouts over 165.2 innings. He was especially good in 12 starts for the Cardinals, going 3-2 with a 2.01 ERA.

Before last season, Quintana’s best year unquestionably came in 2016 with the White Sox, when he went 13-12 with a 3.20 ERA and was named an All-Star for the first and only time to date.

The Colombia-born hurler figures to slot in as the Mets’ No. 4 starter behind the recently signed Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco. He will also serve as the replacement for Taijuan Walker.

Walker was the Mets’ No. 4 starter last season, but he signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, per Passan.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported the Mets were also in on former New York Yankees starter Jameson Taillon, but he signed a four-year, $68 million contract with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

Additionally, the Mets lost longtime starter Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers in free agency, but they signed Verlander away from the Houston Astros on a two-year deal as his replacement.

Despite the moves to add to the pitching staff, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the Mets remain interested in Japanese pitcher Koudai Senga.

By and large, the Mets have merely shuffled around some pieces thus far in free agency and are in line to primarily return the same roster from last season.

While things were trending in a hugely positive direction for the Mets for much of the 2022 campaign, they blew a big lead in the NL East to the Atlanta Braves and were upset by the San Diego Padres in the National League Wild Card Series.

With Verlander and Quintana replacing deGrom and Walker, the Mets are undoubtedly hopeful that those tweaks will help take them to the next level in 2023.