As the Braves continue through Spring Training in North Port, Alex Anthopoulos remains active, evaluating available free agents, with Jose Quintana being one of them.
MLB insider Héctor Gómez reports that Atlanta is among several teams, including the Mets, Rangers, Padres, and Brewers, showing interest in the veteran pitcher.
Quintana posted a 3.75 ERA over 170.1 innings with the Mets last season, though his 4.56 FIP and 1.250 WHIP raise concerns. However, the Braves could do much worse in terms of options.
Gómez also revealed that Quintana was close to a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Pirates. If that’s the price, the Braves should definitely be interested.
A pitcher who can log over 150 innings at the back of the rotation is always valuable. The only challenge with signing Quintana is the Braves would need to 1) adopt a six-man rotation, 2) be willing to move Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes to the bullpen, or 3) part ways with Anderson or Holmes altogether.
As David O’Brien of The Athletic noted on Twitter before Spring Training, Anthopoulos stated that the Braves have the payroll flexibility to strengthen both the rotation and bullpen, but emphasized that they are not close to a deal. Any starter they add must make sense and not block pitchers like Holmes, Anderson, and others.
Ultimately, the Braves don’t need Quintana, Holmes, or their younger pitchers to be frontline starters; they just need them to stay healthy and provide dependable production at the back of the rotation. This potential deal is primarily about adding depth.
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