PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets have seen two completely different variations of José Quintana. Within the locker room, he is likely one of the nicest guys on the crew. He’s everybody’s finest good friend, it appears. Quintana desires to see everybody on the roster do effectively on the baseball subject.
Quintana talks concerning the artwork of pitching with younger teammates similar to José Butto and Tylor Megill. They focus on methods to assault the strike zone. He desires them to throw strikes and convey down their stroll totals.
His relationship with catcher Francisco Alvarez goes with out saying. Quintana has taught Alvarez how you can name higher video games. When he isn’t pitching, Quintana at all times talks to the 22-year-old concerning the recreation of baseball.
“He tells me, ‘Hey, you see that pitch. Why don’t you [call] the subsequent pitch [to that certain hitter]?’” Alvarez stated about Quintana. “He’s an excellent good friend. He’s very pleasant to everybody within the clubhouse. He is likely one of the finest examples on our crew. … He pays consideration to all the things within the recreation.”
Quintana is paying it ahead. He remembered when he was a youthful participant, veterans would give him sound recommendation.
“Jake Peavy talked to me lots. Jake Peavy was an ideal mentor,” Quintana stated. “I had the chance to play with Jon Lester and Cole Hamels. They have been at all times good with me. They at all times gave me good recommendation on studying swings and the way to concentrate within the recreation.”
When he’s wholesome, Quintana exhibits one other aspect of himself as an ideal competitor on the mound. Final yr, he missed the primary half of the season due to a stress fracture in his left rib. As soon as he returned after the All-Star break, Quintana was the second-best starter on the Mets behind Kodai Senga. In 13 video games, Quintana had a good 3.57 ERA. He has a five-pitch combine — together with a sinker, a four-seam fastball and a curveball. The fastball is clocked not more than 93 miles per hour. It’s about command with Quintana. The chase for velocity isn’t within the playing cards.
“He’s going on the market to compete. He actually flips the swap,” teammate Brandon Nimmo stated. “It shocked me. He’s such a pleasant man. He’s a caring and considerate man off the sector and within the clubhouse. On the sector, he’s only a bulldog on the market and desires to win as badly as anyone.”
Think about if New York had Quintana your entire season in 2023. Nimmo thinks about it typically. Sure, shedding nearer Edwin Díaz to a right-knee damage was an enormous blow to the franchise that misplaced 87 video games. However the rotation took a success with the absence of Quintana.
“José goes on the market and provides all the things he has each single time,” Nimmo stated. “His absence was a contributing issue final yr, and we’re simply hopeful we will have him for the entire yr.”
It’s a brand new yr, and the Mets will hopefully have Quintana for a full season. On Thursday night time in opposition to the Nationals, Quintana was stable for 3 innings, hanging out six batters and permitting an unearned run in a 3-1 victory.
The Mets haven’t introduced their starter for Opening Day on March 28 in opposition to the Brewers at Citi Subject. Would Quintana like that task? You guess. The final time he was an Opening Day starter was in 2017 for the White Sox.
“It will be an honor,” he stated. “We don’t know who it’s going to be but. It’s at all times particular for Opening Day. Let’s see who it’s going to be. I had the chance one time in my profession. It was superb.”