Milwaukee Brewers southpaw starter Jose Quintana told Harold Reynolds and Greg Amsinger of MLB Network prior to the first game of their three-game home series on April 14 against the Detroit Tigers that he will play for the Colombian national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Will Jose Quintana play for Team Colombia in the 2026 @WBCBaseball?
"100%" pic.twitter.com/IiSAZvIlKN
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) April 14, 2025
Back on March 5, Quintana signed with Milwaukee on a one-year deal worth $4.25 million, including a $4 million base salary, a $250,000 roster bonus, and $1 million in potential incentives.
Quintana only appeared in two games and made one start during spring training and posted a 1-0 record with a 3.60 ERA, throwing five innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, one home run and striking out two batters.
Quintana has only started one game to begin the 2025 season, against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 11 on the road, where he threw seven innings, allowing four hits, no earned runs, no walks, and struck out two batters on 80 pitches, 50 for strikes.
Colombia swept through the qualifiers and won three games over Brazil, Germany and China to qualify for the 2026 WBC in Tucson, Ariz.
Colombia, Brazil, Chinese Taipei and Nicaragua have all qualified for the 2026 WBC for this upcoming March.
Colombia will play against host nation Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, and Panama in San Juan, Puerto Rico at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 6-11 in Pool A.
Quintana last pitched for Colombia in the 2017 WBC. He made one start and posted a 1.59 ERA, throwing 5.2 innings, allowing two hits, one earned run, one walk, and four strikeouts in the country’s first appearance at the WBC.
Quintana had initially planned to represent Colombia in the 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Tucson, Ariz., at the Kino Sports Complex at Veterans Memorial Stadium. However, he withdrew from the tournament to focus on his new opportunity with Milwaukee and the remainder of spring training.
The 36-year-old, born in Arjona, Bolívar, Colombia, has played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball and was named an All-Star in 2016.
Quintana debuted in the majors with the Chicago White Sox in 2012 and remained with them through the first half of the 2017 season. He was then traded across town to the Chicago Cubs, where he pitched until 2020.
Since leaving the Cubs, Quintana has played for two teams in nearly every season. In 2021, he signed with the Los Angeles Angels but was later acquired by the San Francisco Giants. In 2022, he started the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the New York Mets on December 9, 2022, and spent the past two seasons in their rotation.
In 2024, Quintana made 31 starts and finished with a 10-10 record and a 3.75 ERA. He pitched 170.1 innings, allowing 150 hits, 71 earned runs, 22 home runs, 63 walks, and striking out 135 batters with a 1.250 WHIP.
Quintana was at his best in September, going 3-1 with a 0.72 ERA in four starts. Over 25 innings, he allowed 15 hits, two earned runs, six walks, and struck out 23 batters.
Before his start in Game Four of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Quintana had solid postseason numbers. His record stood at 0-1 with a 2.43 ERA across seven appearances and six starts. He had thrown 29.2 innings, allowing 19 hits, eight earned runs, one home run, nine walks, and striking out 26 batters with a 0.944 WHIP.
Against the Dodgers in Game Four of the NLCS, he struggled, taking the loss after pitching 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs, one home run, four walks, and striking out two batters.
Earlier in the postseason, he had two no-decisions in Game Three of the National League Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Game Four of the National League Division Series. In those two starts, he combined to pitch 11 innings, allowing six hits, no earned runs, three walks, and striking out 11 batters while facing 44 hitters.
In 2023, Quintana went 3-6 with a 3.57 ERA in 13 starts, throwing 75.2 innings, allowing 75 hits, 30 earned runs, five home runs, 24 walks, and striking out 60 batters with a 1.308 WHIP.
Across his 13-year MLB career, Quintana has a 103-103 record with a 3.73 ERA and a 32.0 WAR. He has made 360 appearances and 334 starts, throwing 1,976.2 innings, allowing 1,927 hits, 819 earned runs, and 201 home runs, while walking 591 batters and striking out 1,729. His career WHIP stands at 1.274.
Quintana will make his second start of the season on Wednesday, April 16 against Detroit at home at 1:10 p.m. EDT in Milwaukee’s final game of their three game home series.
The (8-9) Brewers will play their second game of their three game home series against the (10-6) Tigers at 7:40 p.m. EDT on April 15.
The Federación Colombiana de Béisbol announced a new executive committee on April 13 with Jimmy Char, as president, Edinson Renteria as vice president, Alfredo Castellon as second vice president, Carlos Roque Garcia as treasurer, and Simon Beleno Gomez as secretary general.
The current FCB committee will be replacing president Mauricio Farid Char Yidi, secretary general Antonio Jose Yidios Gedeón, vice president Humberto Bozzi Anderson, second vice president Rafael Ostau De Lafont Pianeta, treasurer Ramon De Jesús León Hernández, and chief executive officer Jaime Antonio Char Navas.
Colombia will evaluate if Jose Mosquera will return as manager for the 2026 WBC, alongside scouting players in the MLB, the minor leagues, the independent leagues in Canada and the United States, Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, Korean Baseball Organization, the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol and the 2025-26 Liga Profesional De Béisbol Colombia regular season alongside the other winter leagues in the Caribbean and Australia.
Majority of Colombia’s roster from the 2025 WBCQ will return to play with the national team for the 2026 WBC once they take the field at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on March 6 against host nation Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, and Panama until the end of Pool A on March 11.
The United States will play Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil in Pool B in Houston, Texas at Daikin Park from March 6-11.
The other side of the Quarterfinals will be on March 13 with the Pool C runner-up playing the Pool D winner and the Pool D runner-up will face the Pool C winner on March 14.
WBC Overview
Japan has won the most WBC championships with three in 2006, 2009, and 2023. The United States won in 2017 and the Dominican Republic won in 2013 and are the only other countries to win the WBC since the event started in 2006.
