Quintana agrees to 1-year deal with Brewers (report)

Veteran lefty Jose Quintana has agreed to a one-year deal with the Brewers, according to a report Monday by FanSided's Robert Murray. The club has not confirmed the deal.

Quintana proved in 2024 he had plenty left in the tank, making 31 starts for the Mets and pitching to a 3.75 ERA in 170 1/3 innings of work. Quintana, who will play in his age-36 season in 2025, was a dependable member of the Mets¡¯ rotation in his second season of a two-year, $26 million deal with New York.

Quintana carried a 5.29 ERA into mid-June, but had a 2.77 ERA in his final 18 regular-season starts, including a truly stellar stretch late in the season. In a five-start span from Aug. 25 to Sept. 18, Quintana allowed just one earned run over 32 innings -- a minuscule 0.28 ERA. He was a reason the Mets earned an NL Wild Card berth, and he delivered in the postseason, too, making starts against the Brewers and Phillies in the playoffs without allowing an earned run.

Unfortunately for Quintana, he won't be able to face one of his favorite opponents this year. The southpaw has posted a 2.98 ERA in 23 outings (22 starts) against Milwaukee, recording 131 strikeouts in 130 innings vs. them across his 13 years in the big leagues.

Although Quintana¡¯s swing-and-miss stuff is a thing of the past -- his strikeout rate was below average for the third straight year -- the lefty proved adept at missing barrels and largely avoiding hard contact. Quintana¡¯s fastball averages just 90.9 mph, which ranks in MLB¡¯s ninth percentile, but he has a strong changeup and also uses his curveball and slurve often.

The Colombian left-hander spent time with seven teams in his first 13 Major League seasons, but his first nine years all came in the Windy City. Quintana debuted with the White Sox in 2012 and pitched to a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his first five seasons before being traded to the Cubs midway through 2017 and remaining with the club through 2020. He was used mainly as a reliever by the Angels and Giants in 2021 (San Francisco claimed Quintana off waivers in August) before returning to starting with the Pirates in 2022.

Quintana pitched well for Pittsburgh and was flipped to St. Louis at the 2022 Trade Deadline, excelling with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts for the Cardinals down the stretch. He even started Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series that season, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Phillies. Quintana¡¯s resurgence earned him a multiyear deal with the Mets, although he made only 13 starts in 2023 after undergoing bone graft surgery to repair a stress fracture in his rib. He managed to stay healthy in 2024 and turned in a solid season, helping New York¡¯s rotation weather the loss of Kodai Senga.