4 Mets injuries and 1 other event that hurt the team's playoff chances most

2) NY Mets not having Jose Quintana for the first few months destroyed the back of the rotation

Who would’ve thought Jose Quintana would be such a good pitcher for the Mets? Since returning from the IL, the veteran lefty has been as good as we could’ve ever hoped. He’s not blowing opponents away. He’s giving the Mets quality starts, eating up some innings, and always giving the team a chance to win. Sadly, he came back at the wrong time. The Mets offense has done little to help him out. It took a game against a broken down Adam Wainwright and a bad St. Louis Cardinals team to finally get him a victory.

Where would the Mets be right now if they had Quintana for the entire year? It would have meant fewer David Peterson beatings early on. When Tylor Megill struggled, it wouldn’t have been as big of a concern because Quintana would have been there to help end some of the suffering.

Quintana was meant to be the team’s number three or four starter depending on the performance of Kodai Senga. Senga is the one drawing most of the attention because of how unique he can be on the mound led by his ghost fork. Quintana is a much simpler pitcher. We would’ve taken him for granted if he was able to pitch this well in a winning year for the Mets. Instead, we’re able to see how brilliant he has been because of how awful other starting pitching performances have gone.