A veteran lefty starting pitcher the Pittsburgh Pirates may consider a reunion with

The Pittsburgh Pirates have usually signed a veteran left-handed starting pitcher every year since Ben Cherington took over as the organization’s general manager during the 2019-2020 offseason. With how little the Pirates usually have to work with and how much help their offense needs, doing that again this offseason may not be such a great idea. But given Cherington’s track record, fans shouldn’t hold their breath on him not repeating old habits.

If Cherington does opt to go through this route again, however, he should consider a reunion with Jose Quintana.

Quintana's original stint with the Pirates was in 2022. He made 20 starts while tossing 103 innings, working to a 3.50 ERA, 3.23 FIP, and 1.27 WHIP. His 20.6% strikeout rate was below average, but he walked only 7.2% of opponents and was excellent at limiting hard contact. Quintana held opposing hitters to an 87.1 MPH exit velocity, 7.4% barrel rate, and 0.61 HR/9 ratio. This marked a massive rebound for the left-hander, who struggled badly the prior three seasons.

The Bucs then traded Quintana to the St. Louis Cardinals for Johan Oviedo and Malcolm Nunez. Since his contract was just a one-year deal, he became a free agent after the 2022 campaign, and he would go on to sign a two-year pact with the New York Mets. After two solid seasons with the Mets, Quintana would join the fourth NL Central team of his career, signing with the Milwaukee Brewers.

If the Pirates sign any veteran lefty starter this offseason, it should be Jose Quintana

Although he missed some time, making 24 starts and pitching 131 2/3 innings, he still produced a solid 3.96 ERA and 1.29 FIP. However, Quintana’s 16% strikeout rate was his lowest single-season rate since his 2012 rookie campaign, and his 9% walk rate is the third-worst mark of his career. He was also far more prone to home runs and hard contact, with a 1.23 HR/9 ratio and a barrel percentage of 9.7%. All of that led to some very worrisome underlying ERA estimators, including a 4.81 FIP, 5.18 xERA, 5.04 SIERA, and 4.92 xFIP, all four of which were the worst single-season marks of his career.

For what it’s worth, Quintana has now outperformed these ERA estimators for three seasons in a row. Since the start of the 2023 campaign, he has had a 3.79 ERA. However, most of his underlying metrics say he should be about a run worse than his ERA suggests. He has a 4.44 FIP and 4.61 xFIP, along with a 4.75 xERA and a 4.76 SIERA. Of course, that doesn’t mean Quintana will continue to over-perform. 2026 will still be his age-37 season, and his already-poor 88 Stuff+ from 2024 fell even further to 85 this past season.

It's not out of the question the Pirates would go after Quintana this offseason. He was a starter they pursued before he turned down a contract offer from the Bucs (they eventually landed Andrew Heaney). The Pirates reportedly even offered more than the Brewers did. Quintana signed early into spring training, which was one reason why the start of his season was delayed and he take the mound for the first time until April 11.

Even if Cherington shouldn’t re-sign another veteran lefty starter to a one-year contract, he may end up doing so anyway. So if he does, he should go after one the Pirates are already familiar with who's has a solid track record the last four MLB seasons. That at least gives them a chance to add a legitimately decent starter, rather than trying to rely on a veteran looking for a rebound in 2026.