3) Jose Quintana
The Mets signed Jose Quintana to a two-year deal after rebounding in 2022. Quintana was injured for half of 2023 but returned in 2024 to make 31 starts, the ninth time he has made at least 30 outings in one season. The former all-star and veteran Southpaw is still looking for a contract as of right now.
Quintana pitched a total of 170.1 innings, working to a 3.75 ERA, 4.59 FIP, and 1.25 WHIP. His peripherals weren’t great, as he struck out just 18.8% of opponents with a slightly below league average 8.8% walk rate and 1.16 HR/9. His walk rate is the second worst he has put up in his career, where he has pitched at least 100 innings. On the plus side, he was above average at limiting hard contact with an 88 MPH exit velocity and 6% barrel rate. Quintana was in the 79th percentile of ground ball rate as well at 48.2%.
ERA estimators also did not look fondly at Quintana’s work. He had just a 4.44 xFIP and a 4.57 SIERA. His xERA was also right in line with those two statistics at 4.52 and in the 24th percentile of pitchers in 2024. But for what it’s worth, it is the third season in a row he has overperformed these numbers. He had a 4.25 SIERA and 3.96 xFIP between 2022 and 2023 but a 3.13 ERA across 241.1 innings of work.
The Toronto Blue Jays have been linked to Jose Quintana in recent days, and the fit makes sense. They have a solid 1-3 leading their rotation with Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, and Kevin Gausman. But they traded Yusei Kikuchi at the 2024 trade deadline, and Yarriel Rodriguez struggled in 2024. They have a handful of young top pitching prospects in the system, and Quintana could help bridge the gap so they can eventually take over.