3 NY Mets players who should be able to get paid more than expected this offseason

Happy holidays, everyone. What’s better at holiday time than unexpected joys? A bite into a chocolate chip cookie you didn’t realize had peanut butter in it, too. A remote control car with extra big wheels and not just the lame normal-sized ones your classmate bragged about back in November at his birthday party. A miscalculated amount of cash in an envelope from a relative. These three New York Mets free agents all have a chance to feel something along those lines.

Although none had a truly incredible year, a thinning market at their positions or at least an overzealous plan to pay players fitting their description could soon reward them with more money than they expected. These three Mets players should be getting paid more than expected this offseason.

1) Jose Quintana is a starting pitcher and they’re all getting paid

A handful of moments stand out to me as the ones where I was most proud of my son. His first steps. His first words. The first time he picked up a ball and threw it with his left hand. It didn’t go thump. A cartoonish cash register sound went off. The kid might be a journeyman pitcher in Major League Baseball one day.

Jose Quintana is much better than your typical veteran nomad. Accomplished as he is, teams realize Quintana is nearing the end of his career. Nonetheless, a lefty hurler coming off of a good year with a strong finish should be able to get a sweet one-year contract in this free agent market.

At 36 next season, Quintana is bound to slow down soon. The biggest concern might be the injury bug which eliminated him from more than half of the 2023 season. Mets fans can look at him fondly, though. He had an overall 3.70 ERA in his 44 starts while wearing the orange and blue. This past year was a little over at 3.75. The real sales pitch with him needs to include a 3.18 ERA in 12 second-half starts highlighted by a 0.72 ERA in September.