The Philadelphia Phillies’ offseason machinations are probably just about done, as president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tone deafly told the press, “we’re content where we are.” While that pretty much rules out any major additions, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the club can’t make important moves around the margins and address areas of need with less consequential signings. One such signing that would be a perfect fit is former nemesis starting pitcher Jose Quintana.
The Phillies have heaps of talent in their projected starting rotation, with Cy Young Award runner-up Cristopher Sánchez leading the way, followed by last year’s breakout Jesús Luzardo, former ace Aaron Nola and long-awaited wunderkind Andrew Painter. That’s to say nothing of Zack Wheeler, one of the best pitchers in baseball who should return from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery at some point during the season.
Jose Quintana could add some much-needed insurance to the Phillies' 2026 rotation
Unfortunately, that collection of hurlers has plenty of question marks, as Luzardo was a bit too blowup-prone in 2025, Nola is coming off the worst year of his career, and Painter was shelled at Triple-A in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. On top of all that, the team plans to give perennial punching bag Taijuan Walker regular starts until Wheeler makes his return.
Hopefully some of them will rebound, but expecting all of them to do so is perhaps too much to ask. If any of that lot goes down with an injury, things would get even worse as the team has virtually no starting pitching depth to speak of.
In light of the potential house of cards that is the Phillies’ rotation, it would behoove Dombrowski to bring in an established veteran on a one-year contract to add an extra layer of protection. To that point, the New York Post's Jon Heyman recently reported, "Philly may look to add a starting pitcher now” (subscription required), to shore things up. The perfect candidate for such a commitment is the 37-year-old lefty Quintana, a longtime thorn in the Phillies’ side who shouldn’t command a large payday.
Quintana is far removed from his All-Star peak with the Chicago White Sox a decade ago, but has managed to continue to put up quietly productive seasons even into the twilight of his career. The 14-year big league veteran spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he worked to a solid 3.96 ERA across 24 starts.
The Colombian spent the prior two campaigns with the division-rival New York Mets, where he gave the Phillies fits and posted a terrific 3.70 ERA in 246 total innings. The soft-tossing southpaw doesn’t have any skills that jump off the page, but has used his experience and guile to flummox opposing hitters over the past few seasons.
As a result of Quintana’s advanced age and completely unsexy profile, teams are most likely not banging his door down to fork over fistfuls of cash. To wit, Quintana remained unsigned until early March last year, when Milwaukee scooped him up for just $2 million.
If history is any indication, the Phillies should be able to bring in the crafty veteran on a one-year pact for less than $10 million, and add a much-needed insurance policy to a starting pitching mix that desperately needs one.