The New York Mets have a deep starting rotation, but one of their main starters will be on the shelf for a while. Frankie Montas is dealing with a high-lat strain that will likely keep him out of action for at least two months, so the Mets will have to find a way to replace him at least for the beginning of the season.
Mets not likely to sign Jose Quintana
The Mets don’t seem to be very keen on making an addition externally and rather will rely on their internal options to get the job done. There has been some speculation that New York could reunite with Jose Quintana following Montas’ injury, but The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported that such a move is unlikely.
“League sources said it’s unlikely that the Mets will reunite with Quintana, 36. It is likely, however, that Quintana comes much cheaper now than he would’ve in, say, December when more teams generally had more money they were willing to spend,” Sammon reported.
Quintana would have been a solid depth addition to a rotation that looks completely different than last season. The 36-year-old made 31 starts with the Mets last season and recorded a 3.75 ERA in 170.1 innings pitched, the first season he reached that innings threshold since 2019.
The Mets rotation has uncertain expectations this season
The Mets have Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga headlining their rotation, but behind them are a lot of question marks with uncertain expectations. Clay Holmes, who they signed in free agency after spending the past three seasons with the New York Yankees, is transitioning into a full-time starter after being a reliever for most of his career, so there are workload concerns with him.
Montas was projected to be a huge part of their starting rotation, but they will now need to rely on guys like David Peterson and Griffin Canning to make up for his lost production. While a reunion with Quintana still has a non-zero chance of occurring, it is highly unlikely that they will do it given that he would only be a temporary replacement.
Where Quintana plays in 2025 remains to be seen, but the Mets will likely look to someone else to replace Montas for the start of the season.