Star-studded roster impresses Quintana
PORT ST. LUCIE — Jose Quintana has pitched for star-studded teams with the Cubs and Cardinals, but as he surveyed the Mets’ clubhouse at Clover Park this week, he was overcome by the amount of talent and accomplishment in the room.
“This thing is really packed,” Quintana said. “All the experience we have around us makes it special, this team. It’s really exciting to be around both aces, [Justin] Verlander and [Max] Scherzer. That is pretty cool.”
Lost in the hoopla of the Mets signing Verlander and pairing him with Scherzer (giving the team six Cy Young awards in their rotation) and Kodai Senga’s arrival from Japan was Quintana’s addition this winter on a two-year contract worth $26 million.
Quintana, 34, split last season with the Pirates and Cardinals, pitching to a 2.93 ERA in 32 appearances. It’s a career that has also included stops with the White Sox, Cubs, Angels and Giants, but it began in the Mets’ minor league system in 2006.
Eduardo Escobar, a teammate of Quintana’s with the White Sox, recalled watching the lefthander, in his major league debut, pitch 5 2/₃ shutout innings of relief against the Indians. Later that month, Quintana returned to the big leagues to fill in for an injured pitcher.
“He threw real good and they didn’t send him back to the minors,” Escobar said. “I am so happy he is still pitching in the big leagues, because I know how hard he works and he respects the game.”
Several of Quintana’s new teammates got a look at him Saturday, when he threw two innings of live batting practice on the main field. Quintana faced Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brett Baty and didn’t allow a hard-hit ball.
“He has a heavy fastball,” Escobar said. “He doesn’t throw hard, but he has good location, so he is smart. The heavy fastball, he throws 93 or 94 [mph], but sometimes it looks like it’s 97. He has good location.”
Quintana expects to receive two starts in the exhibition season before leaving camp on March 6 to represent Colombia in the World Baseball Classic. For Quintana, who also pitched for Colombia in the 2017 tournament, it’s something of a national calling. Teammates will include Gio Urshela, Donovan Solano and Julio Teheran.
“Our country is baseball and soccer, but now people pay more attention to us, so I think that is the biggest thing: to represent my country,” Quintana said. “More people are watching us and now they think in baseball we have good players, so they are really interested in the team.”
Quintana said he heard from the Mets early in free agency, and soon received the message the team was targeting him. The Mets landed him during the winter meetings, a day after they agreed to a two-year contract worth $86.7 million with Verlander.
“During the offseason there are a lot of rumors you hear,” Quintana said. “One day you hear from one team, some days from another, it’s like a game. But what was really good for me was when I heard from the Mets that they were targeting me. As soon as I heard, I said, ‘Wow — that is a real good team. I want to pitch for them.’ ”
Quintana got as far as the NLCS with the Cubs in 2017 and pitched in the NL wild-card series last year for the Cardinals. He said it won’t be enough just to return to the postseason with the Mets.
“Some players never get that chance to get to the playoffs, but just about everybody here knows how that feels and the goal is to win the World Series,” Quintana said. “We have talent, we have experience and we need to do it.”