10 best players to join the NL East this offseason

7) Jose Quintana - New York Mets

Jose Quintana was a very underrated pickup made by the Mets. He's essentially the Taijuan Walker replacement. While Quintana in my opinion doesn't have the upside Walker has (as Walker shows every first half) he does have the ability to pitch a complete season. Walker faltered both second halves he pitched for the Mets while Quintana excelled in the second half of last season.

Quintana likely won't have the 2.93 ERA he had last season or even have an ERA that comes close to that number. He doesn't have to do that. He has to be a reliable fourth starter for New York. Give five or six innings per start, allow three runs or fewer most of the time. The Mets would be thrilled if they get that kind of production from the southpaw.

What makes Quintana so exciting to me is that he allowed just eight home runs in 165.2 innings pitched. When he faces teams like the Phillies who play in one of the more hitter-friendly parks in baseball or the Braves who rely so much on the home run ball, having a pitcher who excells at limiting that will be huge. I'd expect that number to go up into double figures playing in the NL East against much better competition than he faced in the NL Central, but it'll be a nice asset to have.

6) Joe Jimenez - Atlanta Braves

The Braves added a reliever I desperately wanted the Mets to target when they acquired Joe Jimenez in a trade with the Tigers. I wanted him at the deadline, and I wanted him in the offseason. The right-hander is coming off of a dominant season with Detroit and looks to be a fixture late in games for the Braves who have an elite bullpen.

Jimenez's 3.49 ERA was good but doesn't jump off the page. His 2.00 FIP does, and suggests his ERA was very unlucky. Jimenez struck out 12.2 batters per nine while walking just 2.1 per nine. His 5.92 K/BB ratio wasn't much worse than Edwin Diaz's 6.56, and we all know the special season Diaz had in 2022.

The Braves lost Kenley Jansen but replaced him with an even better reliever. The Mets will have trouble hitting this 6'3" 277-pound right-hander.