Grading the free agent starting pitcher additions made this winter

2) NY Mets grade for signing Jose Quintana: B+

I have my doubts about Jose Quintana. He wasn’t so good for a number of years. The 2022 campaign stunned a lot of people. He was good with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Somehow, he was even better after the trade deadline when he joined the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tempted to give this more of an average score, it’s the dollars and cents which brings me to a better sense of understanding this deal. The two-year contract at $26 million comes out to an acceptable $13 million per year. It’s the same Noah Syndergaard got from the Los Angeles Dodgers for one season. It matches with Tyler Anderson’s contract with the Los Angeles Angels but one less season; he got a third year from the Anaheim Trouts.

The free agent pitchers who got deals in the $12-14 million per season range have some major faults. Among them, it’s easy to trust Quintana more even if some recent seasons haven’t been terribly good.

Zach Eflin, Sean Manaea, Mike Clevinger, and Andrew Heaney are four who fall in this range. Who would you rather have? One pitcher we could debate is Ross Stripling, however, it’s no sure bet he’ll outpitch Quintana.

Quintana’s expectations are probably closer to what pitchers like Jameson Taillon and Nathan Eovaldi can do. Each got deals with a $17 million AAV. The Mets did well with this one.