MIAMI — Jose Quintana had never felt pain like the one he felt March 6 in Jupiter. The 34-year-old Mets lefty had felt great every day leading up to his second Grapefruit League start and he was looking forward to getting on the mound, putting in some work and departing for the World Baseball Classic.
But there was a strange pain in his chest when he was warming up for his spring start against the St. Louis Cardinals. After making it through one inning, he went back to the dugout and had trouble breathing. He was worried it could be a problem with his heart.
“I started my warmup and I felt way better than my first outing in spring training,” Quintana said Thursday at LoanDepot Park before the Mets’ season opener against the Miami Marlins. “My pitch was really good, it was great. But that pain in my chest, I was scared. As soon as I got back to the bench, I couldn’t breathe really good and I couldn’t move my arm like I usually do.”
Jose Quintana was with the Mets during Thursday’s game in Miami.
Jose Quintana was with the Mets during Thursday’s game in Miami. (Jeff Roberson/AP)
We now know what the pain he was feeling was — a stress fracture on his rib caused by a benign tumor. Quintana has been shut down since March 6 and recently underwent a bone graft procedure to correct the issue.
He was back in the Mets clubhouse Thursday to support the team on Opening Day, proudly showing off the scar on his left hip where the doctors retrieved bone for his rib.
It was a scary few days for Quintana and his wife, Michel, as they received the diagnosis of a tumor and it was biopsied. They opted not to tell the rest of the family until they received the results of the biopsy so as not to worry their kids or anyone else, and luckily it came back negative.
“It was a surprise for me but scary at the same time,” he said.
Quintana will begin his rehab this week in New York and expects to continue rehabbing there. He was finally allowed to start moving around this week and was happy to be back in the clubhouse with the team.
However, he’s still not quite sure when he’ll be able to pitch again. The Mets expect him to be shut down through June and are eying a July return, but much of it depends on how his rehab goes and how long he needs to build back up to be able to get to game shape.
“I don’t know yet,” he said. “I don’t have dates. This week I start to get moving and can work out. Let’s see, it’s one step at a time.”
This is Quintana’s first extended stint on the injured list. He has only been placed on the 10-day list three previous times in his career and none since 2021. Quintana signed a two-year, $26 million contract in December and the Mets targeted him, in part, because of his durability.