1 more Mets player the team should put on notice along with Jeff McNeil

The New York Mets sat Jeff McNeil again on Tuesday with a lefty on the mound against them. They’re taking his semi-benching seriously. With Jose Iglesias playing well, it’s much easier to sit the starting second baseman.

The Mets haven’t been shy about telling players how they really feel. Adrian Houser was demoted to the bullpen quickly and deservedly. Free agent signings and trade acquisitions are getting DFA’d. They don’t care how much money Omar Narvaez is guaranteed. They’ll eat it and go with someone else.

More players might stick around but see their role diminish or at least playing time disappear. The next guy to receive a treatment like this is Jose Quintana.

The Mets shouldn’t be shy about skipping Jose Quintana in the rotation

Quintana is currently slated to start one of the games in London, but with all of the off-days, they really don’t need to. Quintana already got the benefit of the doubt when they named him the club’s Opening Day starter. After a dozen starts, he’s clearly not the pitcher he used to be.

At 1-5 with a 5.17 ERA, Quintana is now the weak link in the starting pitching chain. This includes the plethora of other pitchers currently in the minor leagues who’ve been impressive. His one win came in the 16-4 beat down of the Atlanta Braves. Quintana couldn’t even make it out of the sixth inning in that affair.

The Mets are 5-7 in games Quintana has started. They’re on a bit of a cold streak, though. Since his awesome 8-inning performance against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 28 when he earned a no-decision, the team has won only a single game where he started. This was their victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on May 16.

Quintana hasn’t been atrocious each time out. Back-to-back quality starts against the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers without a walk allowed followed up the Mets win and Quintana no-decision versus Philadelphia. His last time out, we saw Quintana revert back to the weaker version of himself. Lasting just 4 innings, he walked 3 Arizona Diamondbacks players in 4 innings. The back-to-back home runs to start the game were what hurt the most.

There isn’t any magic cure for Quintana. His walk rate has improved a lot after the three games of not allowing any. Down to 3 per 9, his bigger problem might be how hard opponents are smacking the ball against him. Quintana held batters to a 32.5% hard-hit rate last year. This season it’s up to 45.1%. More than twice as many home runs allowed (11) than he had last year (5) and in fewer innings, we see where the problem lies. Quintana is handing out four-base hits on a far too frequent basis.

Passing over Quintana once or even twice through the rotation won’t cure what ails him. But in respect to trying to win every game they can, this team has a much better chance with others on the mound. Jose Butto? Christian Scott? The younger players have handled themselves on the mound far better.