While the Braves continue to progress through Spring Training in North Port, general manager Alex Anthopoulos remains hard at work, consistently evaluating available free agents, including veteran pitcher Jose Quintana.
According to MLB insider Héctor Gómez, the Braves are one of several teams — along with the Mets, Rangers, Padres, and Brewers — expressing interest in Quintana. The left-hander is coming off a solid season with the Mets, posting a 3.75 ERA over 170.1 innings. However, his 4.56 FIP and 1.250 WHIP raise some concerns. Still, the Braves could do far worse in their pursuit of pitching depth.
Gómez further reported that Quintana and the Pirates were reportedly close to a one-year, $5.5 million deal before negotiations fell through. If that is indeed the price range, the Braves could find value in bringing him on board.
A pitcher who can consistently log over 150 innings as a back-end starter is always an asset in today’s game. However, signing Quintana would likely force the Braves to make some difficult decisions. They would either have to implement a six-man rotation, move Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes to the bullpen, or part ways with either Anderson or Holmes entirely.
David O’Brien of The Athletic noted on Twitter before Spring Training that Anthopoulos mentioned the Braves have the payroll flexibility to add both rotation and bullpen help, but he also made it clear that any potential acquisition must make sense given the current roster. He emphasized that any starter brought in would have to be someone who wouldn’t block the development of young pitchers like Anderson or Holmes.
Ultimately, the Braves don’t need Quintana, Holmes, or their other young arms to provide ace-level production. What they need is reliable depth at the back of their rotation, and that’s what this potential deal for Quintana represents — added stability and depth to their pitching staff.