The offseason has been predominantly sombre north of the border. While the club has made strides in the bullpen and shored up second base, the Blue Jays still have many unanswered questions and unattended roster issues with Spring Training just over a month away. The starting rotation could be an area of improvement, and one pitcher who can be the guy to improve the rotation is left-hander Jose Quintana.

Toronto has made minimal moves so far this offseason and they are not sufficient enough to be considered to be American League East divisional contenders – everybody knows that.  The club has holes to fill and areas of improvement to address.

The starting rotation seems to be Toronto’s greatest area of depth but still a work in progress. The Jays lost Yusei Kikuchi at the deadline last season, which saw their lone southpaw starter head out of town. Toronto has some guaranteed arms in Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt but some question marks remain beyond them. The remaining arms for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation are between Bowden Francis, who has the edge over the group and is heading towards ‘lock’ territory after how he finished last season, Yariel Rodriguez, and Jake Bloss. Alek Manoah and Ricky Tiedemann could both play a factor later in the year but not for Opening Day while they still recover from their respective Tommy John surgeries to start the 2025 campaign.

Bloss will be up in the majors this year and will be highly depended on. He may slip into the starting role from time to time, especially on a bullpen day, however, he likely will stay in triple-A to continue starting as depth if he doesn’t make the rotation out of Spring Training. If Bloss shows out in the spring, a role change could be reconsidered as well.

Looking at the group above, the fifth spot could be occupied by an outside veteran arm that would bring experience to the roster. Jose Quintana could be that arm to bring some life into the back end of the rotation, and he may not be costly.

Quintana is a 13-year veteran and has split his time between seven different MLB teams in his career with the most recent one being the New York Mets, where he spent the last two seasons. The one-time all-star (2016) still throws the ball well and can be effective on the mound.

In 2024 he worked 170 and 1/3 innings going 10-10 through 31 starts. He sat down 135 hitters on strikeouts and walked only 63, posting a 7.1 K/9 and a 3.3 BB/9. The 35-year-old may be toying with age and vulnerability but his ability to pitch and bounce back is what’s recognized, as he broke the 30-start plateau for the second time in three seasons.

The left-hander’s metrics don’t look all that parallel with today’s standards given the day and age of velocity, but his pitch-ability and command get him to where he needs to be. The fastball averages around 91 mph and he works five pitches, with a sinker being the most used.

The sinker leads in put-away percentage (23.0%) and works lane to lane in velocity as the four-seam fastball. He produced a +11 fastball run value (89th percentile) with his sinker and four-seam but it was the sinker that stood out among the group. This pitch works with depth, deceiving below the knees with late-moving action. For his breaking and his offspeed, he also relies on a slurve, curveball, and changeup. Last season, he cut down on line drives (22.2% compared to the MLB average of 24.7%) and for his career, Quintana has mostly been a groundball pitcher, which he saw an uptick to 48.2% in 2024.

Quintana commands the zone well and takes charge on the hill, showing confidence and experience, the type of traits that come with being on the mound for over a decade plus.

The talks of Quintana leaving New York are high, especially based on the fact that they have not budged his way and the Mets have added some starting pitching depth this winter by re-signing Sean Manaea and bringing in Griffin Canning and Frankie Montas.

The Blue Jays have been flirting with the idea of adding a starter this winter, missing out on Corbin Burnes and Max Fried while also being finalists for Roki Sasaki, who will sign likely by this weekend or early into next. With Quintana on the market still, Toronto could add another starter, shuffling current options to relief roles, especially if they miss out on Sasaki.

He would represent the only left-handed pitcher in the rotation if he came over and would fit perfectly as a short-game starter, averaging four to five innings per game, providing execution in his matchups while pairing with a long-reliever type like Rodriguez. His veteran-like demeanour brings an understanding of matchups and confidence to go after hitters, working around the at-bat.

Quintana could land a one-year deal wherever he goes and it’s predicted that he will earn $16-$18 million for the year, although this number could trickle down the closer we get to Spring Training.

If he works out, great! More depth in the rotation. If he doesn’t, the risk is only one year with the option to trade him before the deadline or cut him to make way for Alek Manoah’s return, knowing that the team attempted to bolster the rotation.