A Mets free agent reunion David Stearns shouldn't walk away from too quickly

The New York Mets are poised to be big players this offseason, chasing both Juan Soto and a top-of-the-rotation arm. While Soto, the biggest fish potentially ever to hit the open market, and a true ace are both tantalizing possibilities for the Amazins' faithful, adding depth to the rotation is almost nearly as impactful.

With three of their most reliable starters last year, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana all hitting free agency there's a huge need to bolster the rotation on all fronts. While Kodai Senga's return is promising, the Japanese star prefers pitching on the schedule he commonly enjoyed in Japan, once a week, versus the every five days most starters operate on in the MLB.

Jose Quintana is the perfect Mets target

The market for middle-to-back-of-the-rotation starters is well stocked this off-season, but one option stands head and shoulders above the rest. A reunion with veteran southpaw Jose Quintana would be an ideal way to lengthen the rotation.

The Mets need starters capable of eating innings and minimizing hard contact while also being adept at pitching under pressure under the Big Apple's bright lights for a team with World Series aspirations. Quintana, having played in Queens the past two seasons, is no stranger to the stress of playing in New York, and with a career 3.55 postseason ERA has shown he can rise to the occasion in big games.

Despite entering his age-36 season, Quintana hasn't shown many signs of slowing down. Never overpowering, he generated ground balls at an above average rate posting a mark of 47.4% per FanGraphs. His soft contact rate (17.3%) and line drive rate (17.6%) are both better than his career averages.

Quintana has some warts. He doesn't strike out many batters, and if he's not locating his pitches well he's susceptible to walking batters and giving up the long ball. Still, his ability to mostly limit hard contact led to him posting an ERA of 3.75 over 170.1 innings pitched last season.

Bringing back Quintana in addition to adding an ace would put all the pieces in the right place for the Mets rotation. The rotation, as it stands now according to FanGraphs depth charts only features one starter who logged more than 100 innings last season., David Peterson.

Manaea and Severino may price themselves out of the Mets budget in both dollars and years, and no other option on the market has the combination of durability and reliability to go along with big game experience as Quintana.

With Senga hopefully healthy, another top of the rotation arm added, and the return of Quintana the Mets can bolster their rotation depth, add big-game experience, and bring in a proven innings-eater without breaking the bank.