Mets have a Jose Quintana problem, but there’s no obvious solution

The day after one of the Mets‘ most electrifying wins of the year, on the strength of Francisco Alvarez‘s walk-off homer and explosive celebration in the ninth inning, the vibes at Citi Field before Tuesday’s game against the Orioles were high.

Francisco Lindor and Jose Iglesias were mingling on the field with actor Kevin James, Brandon Nimmo was back in the lineup after an injury scare a few games prior, and the Mets had a chance to take a series from the Orioles — one of the best teams in baseball.

Then the game started.

On the mound for New York was Jose Quintana, who was one of their steadiest performers until this month, when he started to hit a wall.

His last two starts had been subpar, with the 35-year-old allowing nine runs on 11 hits while walking six in 10.2 innings — resulting in losses to the Mariners and Athletics.

The game against the A’s was especially troubling, with Quintana allowing Oakland to almost totally erase an early 5-0 lead in what should’ve been a laugher of a win for the Mets that instead became a crushing defeat.

Then came Tuesday night.

Against the high-powered Orioles offense, Quintana gave up a two-run homer (with two outs) to Anthony Santander in the top of the first and allowed another run in the second inning.

After the Mets cut Baltimore‘s deficit to 3-1 in the third, Quintana promptly surrendered three runs in the fourth — one on an infield hit and two on a mammoth two-run homer by former Met James McCann that reached the second deck in left field.

That made it 6-1 and effectively ended any chance the Mets had to win the game, with their late comeback effort being futile.

So, what can the Mets do about Quintana’s struggles? Is his rotation spot in jeopardy?

“We haven’t got to that point,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after Tuesday’s game. “Right now he’s in our rotation and we’re going to need him.”

Mendoza added that he has confidence that Quintana can turn things around.

It’s easy to read into the “right now” portion of the response from Mendoza, whether it’s a clue or not.

But it’s also easy to see why Quintana is staying in the rotation — at least for now. It’s because the Mets don’t have an obvious choice to replace him.

Jose Butto is staying in the bullpen, where he’s been one of the Mets’ most important arms.

Kodai Senga is out for the remainder of the regular season.

Christian Scott is making progress toward a potential late-season return, but is not close.

What about in Triple-A?

The only starting pitcher in Triple-A who is on the Mets’ 40-man roster is Tylor Megill, who had a 5.17 ERA for New York earlier this season.

If the Mets wanted to go with an option in Syracuse who is not on the 40-man, they could consider Joey Lucchesi. But the fact that the Mets haven’t given Lucchesi a shot yet this season, and that they DFA’d him recently only to have him clear waivers and get outrighted back to Triple-A, likely tells you all you need to know.

Also in Triple-A are prospects Blade Tidwell and Brandon Sproat.

It would be stunning if Tidwell got a taste of the bigs this season, and pretty surprising if Sproat did.

Speaking last week, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns made it seem like Sproat — who has made just two starts since being promoted to the highest minor league level — would need to become a dominant force in Triple-A to have any chance of coming up before the season ended. And even then, it could still be unlikely.

In a world where Quintana continues to get shelled and Sproat starts making Triple-A hitters look like little leaguers, could he force the issue? Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean it would be wise to promote him.

Another option for the Mets could be to call up an additional arm when rosters expand to 28 on Sept. 1 and have bullpen games each time Quintana’s spot comes up. But that could put a ton of stress on the bullpen.

What makes this situation so frustrating is that the offense is hitting enough (for the most part), the bullpen is about to be at full strength, and the rest of the rotation — absent a few hiccups here and there — is giving the Mets a chance every game.

This is simplistic, given the ebbs and flows of a 162-game season and the amount of things that happen during each game, but it’s possible that Quintana’s late-season struggles could be the main culprit if the Mets miss the playoffs.

Dating back to Aug. 4, the Mets have lost the last four games Quintana has started.

If Quintana starts to turn things around, coinciding with a 10-game road trip that will take the Mets to San Diego, Arizona, and to Chicago to face the White Sox, the Mets should be in good position to make it through that stretch and emerge on the other end still in contention.

If not? Their feel-good season could be in peril by the time September begins.