Quintana will also be entering his fifth season of professional baseball and first with the Explorers.
He was initially acquired by the X’s via trade on December 10th, 2020.
Quintana has made a career for himself in independent baseball, playing in the Atlantic League, Frontier League and the American Association.
The 27 year old pitched last season for the St. Paul Saints appearing in eight total games and four starts. In 29 innings he had a 7.14 ERA and recorded 36 strikeouts for a K/9 of 11.2 while issuing only six free passes. Quintana proved to be incredibly versatile for the Saints. If he wasn’t starting for St. Paul that day, he was providing long relief out of the bullpen. In his four relief appearances he went at least three innings in three of them.
The West Hartford, Connecticut native spent his first two professional seasons in the Atlantic League. Appearing in three games for the Bridgeport Bluefish in 2017. And then in ten games the following year for the New Britain Bees.
He made a name for himself in 2019 purely as a starter while pitching for the Joliet Slammers and Evansville Otters in the Frontier League. He made 19 starts, putting together an 8-3 record and a 3.12 ERA. In only 109.2 innings his 124 strikeouts ranked fourth best in the Frontier League that season.
Before joining the St. Paul Saints, Quintana pitched for the Saints of Siena College in Loudonville, NY. In four years he went 11-6 with a 3.32 ERA over 173.2 innings and 138 strikeouts. His 82 career appearances rank second all time in school history and he holds the single season school record with 28 appearances during his junior season.