After signing a two-year contract worth $13 million annually this past offseason, Mets’ starting pitcher José Quintana suffered a rib injury during spring training that would sideline him for an extended period of time. In Quintana’s absence, the Mets’ rotation has suffered from a lack of depth that the left-handed pitcher would have provided.
However, that changed when Quintana made his return to major league action on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox after an arduous rehab process that involved several outings in the minor league system.
In the first inning, Quintana ran into some trouble while trying to shake off the rust from a lack of major league action this season. After generating a flyout to begin the game, Quintana allowed three singles in a row, which resulted in a run scoring for the White Sox. However, he was able to quickly escape trouble, as he struck out White Sox’ catcher Yasmani Grandal on a breaking ball with exceptional movement.
Quintana would allow his second run of the game in the following inning. Zach Remillard started the inning with a double and advanced to third base on a groundout from the subsequent batter. Then, veteran infielder Elvis Andrus cashed in the run on a sacrifice fly.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
All four of the pitches in Quintana’s arsenal were working well today. Out of his 77 total pitches, he was able to generate a combined 22 called strikes and whiffs, for a CSW% of 29%. Most notably, he used his sinker 30 times, and was able to produce eight called strikes and two whiffs. If his sinker can continue to be this effective one-third of the time, he should definitely utilize it more often going forward.
In the end, Quintana managed to get through five innings, and he limited the damage to the two runs that he allowed in the first two frames.
This impressive start did not just capture the attention of Mets fans. In fact, Andy Martino of SNY reported that Quintana has been scouted by numerous clubs throughout his minor league rehab assignment. Consequently, the interest level in Quintana’s services likely expanded due to his impressive outing on Thursday.
His final line from Thursday: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 K.
Despite pitching in a losing effort, not to the fault of his performance, Quintana remained optimistic about the team’s playoff aspirations during his postgame media session.
“We need to keep fighting. You never know what’s going to happen.”
This positive attitude speaks to Quintana’s professionalism, as he remains committed to the team, despite already being mentioned in trade rumors. While this season has not exactly gone as planned, Quintana could still be a useful piece for the Mets next year, as he will be under contract. This is why the Mets should not deal the left-handed pitcher unless they are blown away by an offer from a contender.
