Mets' José Quintana to Have Surgery to Remove Non-Cancerous Tumor After Rib Injury

New York Mets pitcher José Quintana will undergo bone graft surgery after a benign lesion was found on his rib, general manager Billy Eppler told reporters Tuesday.

Quintana was initially shut down after suffering a stress fracture in his rib during spring training. A lesion was found after an examination of his rib, but a biopsy was negative.

The left-hander is expected to be out until at least July.

The initial rib injury came during a spring training game earlier this month, with Quintana describing tightness in his left side. It was enough for him to drop out of the World Baseball Classic, where he was slated to pitch for Colombia.

The 34-year-old was heading into the first season of his two-year, $26 million contract with the Mets. He was part of a busy free-agent period for the team, which also signed Justin Verlander and Kodai Senga to the rotation.

Verlander, Senga, Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco and David Peterson should lead the pitching staff at the start the season until Quintana returns to the mound.

Quintana is coming off an impressive season splitting time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished with a 2.93 ERA across 32 starts, totaling 137 strikeouts with just eight home runs allowed in 165.2 innings.

It was the eighth time in 11 career seasons Quintana made at least 30 starts, accumulating a 3.75 ERA in this span. He earned an All-Star selection in 2016 when he went 13-12 with a 3.20 ERA with the Chicago White Sox.