NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 unpopular David Stearns decisions that turned out well

5) Not signing Jose Quintana last offseason

Jose Quintana gets another mention. A holdover for Stearns in 2024, the Mets went forth with him on the roster rather than trade him in the offseason and completely overhaul the roster. What a novel idea!

As he lingered in free agency until March 5, fans were asking for a return to the Mets roster. It made sense. They lacked quality depth and with early injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas in spring training, it became even more viable to sign Quintana.

The contract, which paid him $2 million in 2025 with a mutual option of $15 million in 2026 (plus a $2 million buyout) was odd yet affordable. To make matters worse, he was 4-0 with a 1.14 ERA to begin the year.

Then came the rest of the season. Quintana showed his age and never had a monthly ERA under 4.00. A 4.77 ERA in the second half wouldn’t have helped the Mets out nearly enough for what they required down the stretch. In retrospect, he would have fit right in alongside the rest of the Mets pitchers who forgot the season lasted 162 games.

Passing over Quintana seemed like an early mistake fans had every right to complain about. A steady decline to a 3.96 ERA was more average than anything. In his final appearance for the Milwaukee Brewers, he started a game in the playoffs and allowed 3 earned runs in 2 innings of work. That was in Game 4 of the NLCS as the Los Angeles Dodgers took out the brooms for a series sweep.