PHOENIX -- Ask any general manager in baseball about pitching depth, and they will undoubtedly say there’s no such thing as too much. The Brewers took a step to add to theirs on Wednesday, agreeing to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2026 with left-hander Jose Quintana. Terms were not announced, but a source told MLB.com that it's for $4.25 million.
The 36-year-old will give Milwaukee another veteran arm to add into the rotation mix, which is waiting for Brandon Woodruff to return from shoulder surgery and dealing with another injury to DL Hall, who was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left lat strain to make room on the roster, and to Aaron Ashby, who exited his last start with an oblique injury just hours after the Brewers reached their tentative deal with Quintana.
"I'm so excited to be a part of this group," Quintana said. "It's a lot of younger guys, and right away I feel that energy. Now I understand, after just a couple of days here, why they win. It's a new journey for me and I'm excited for the next chapter of my career."
For Quintana's new teammates, that feeling was mutual. Brewers Opening Day starter Freddy Peralta and Quintana joked on Wednesday morning about being "enemies" of Quintana for a long time -- a nod to the lefty's success against the Brewers over the years -- and Peralta said adding him "makes our rotation better, stronger. We have more depth now."
“It energizes the team,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said. “We like the guys that we have, and we have a good team. But any time you can add guys -- especially, someone that has done the things that Jose has done in this league -- it energizes the group.
“The more good players that you can have on your team, the better off you're going to be, especially on the pitching side. You know you're going to need depth there, because you use a lot of guys in the season.”
That was certainly the case last season, when the Brewers tied a franchise record by using 17 pitchers to start games.
Quintana spent the past two seasons with the Mets, who signed him to a two-year, $26 million deal prior to the 2023 campaign. Though he was limited to 75 2/3 innings in his first year with New York, Quintana bounced back in 2024, logging 170 1/3 innings while going 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA.
“He’s such a solid starting pitcher to have,” said Brewers non-roster invitee Mark Canha, who was teammates with Quintana on the 2023 Mets. “He’s a quality arm. He's talented. He's a pro, and he's an awesome guy. It’s kind of a shock that it took this long for somebody to go grab him because he's such a solid piece.”
Quintana’s 2024 didn’t start out well when he went 1-5 with a 5.29 ERA through his first 13 starts. From June 15 through the end of the season, he was 9-5 with a 2.77 ERA, highlighted by a five-start stretch from Aug. 25 to Sept. 18 that saw him allow one earned run over 32 innings (0.28 ERA) to help the Mets clinch a postseason berth.
“He just knows what he's doing,” Canha said. “He hits his spots, and he's got great stuff. He doesn't mess around; he’s aggressive. And usually it feels like when you're facing him, you have to hit a good pitcher's pitch. That's what makes him so tough. He can put it where he wants to put it, and he doesn't make too many mistakes.”
It’s hard to blame the Brewers for being excited about the signing, because it means they won’t have to face Quintana this season. In 23 career outings (22 starts) against Milwaukee, Quintana has a 2.98 ERA over 130 innings, baffling Brewers bats time and time again.
"I had a couple of options, but I pitch pretty well against the Central division and I know this division for a long time," Quintana said. "I really like this [Brewers] group. I saw how electric they are and how hungry they are.
"The most important thing is how they respect the game. That's a cool thing I always see playing against the Brewers. It's a new generation than the one I faced over the last couple of years, and they still are doing good things. I think it's a really good organization, and it made it easy to pick this team."
The Brewers got a firsthand look at how effective Quintana could be last October, when he held Milwaukee scoreless over six innings in the decisive Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series.
“He knows our division really well,” Peralta said. “We’ve played against him a lot of times, and we all know him. It doesn’t matter if he's getting hit hard or pitching great, he has trust in himself. He’s going to give you innings. He’s competitive and he wants to pitch, which is very important.”
Quintana joins a rotation that likely will include Peralta, Nestor Cortes, Tobias Myers and Aaron Civale, with Woodruff expected back sometime during the first half. Milwaukee could also get contributions from Hall, Ashby and Tyler Anderson, not to mention some of its top pitching prospects in the Minors.
“He’s so level-headed; he puts his head down and goes to work every day,” Canha said. “He’s not overly emotional; he’s even-keeled, which is what you want in a clubhouse. Over the course of a full season, he comes in with a smile on his face every day and works. I would advise any young pitcher in here to pick that guy's brain as much as they can.”