5 upcoming NY Mets free agents in for a rude awakening this offseason

2) Jose Quintana

Jose Quintana was able to pick up a nice two-year deal worth $26 million from the Mets ahead of the 2023 season. He missed half of his first season then returned to pitch well. This season, he hasn’t been nearly as spectacular. A string of good games in the middle of the summer doesn’t erase all of the heartache. Quintana just isn’t trustworthy anymore. It goes beyond health.

Next year will be Quintana’s age 36 campaign which puts him in a dangerous territory for a free agent. He’ll end this year with almost 2,000 MLB innings logged. To expect him to suddenly get better would be a major mistake. He’s more of a craftsman than anything else. While milking a few more good starts out of him is possible, it feels inevitable for one or two things to occur as his career progresses.

Quintana will either break down due to age or see his talent completely evaporate. His season numbers for the Mets in 2024 haven’t been completely abysmal. Yet watching him enough you can tell even when he is winning games and getting results that it’s not sustainable. He pitches to too much contact and with an increase in walks and home runs this year, it’ll be hard for a team to view him as anything more than a fifth starter on the cheap. He has been great lately but those dips in his performance are enough of a sign that he doesn't have a high ceiling in the coming year.