José Quintana. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
The New York Mets announced earlier on Monday that left-handed pitcher José Quintana suffered a “small stress fracture” in the fifth rib on his left side. He will now head back to New York to undergo further testing.
Quintana left his strong spring training outing on Sunday with left-side tightness. He later announced his withdrawal from the World Baseball Classic, where he was slated to pitch for Team Colombia.
As of Monday, the Mets had no timeline for his return, but he has left spring training to head back to New York to begin his recovery process.
Quintana, on Instagram, said that he has been dealing with the tightness in the left side of his back for a little while and that Sunday it became obvious he could not continue to push it. He added, “Now I just need to recover fully and try to be ready for the start of the 2023 MLB season.”
Quintana was signed by the Mets during the offseason with plans for him to help the middle of the rotation. With being sidelined by his rib, New York may now have to find a backup plan. Of course, that list begins with David Peterson, who was recently diagnosed with a bruised foot after he was hit with a comebacker. Though Peterson likely won’t miss time, Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi are two other names who can replace Quintana if he misses time.
