DENVER -- Rockies veteran pitcher Jose Quintana maintained his smile even as he ran sprints Thursday morning at Coors Field with a high-tension cord trying to hold him back.
The accompanying pain and fear never stopped him.
Quintana, 37, feared his career was over when he suffered a left elbow sprain nearly four months ago. He opted for a PRP injection rather than surgery and the uncertainty that came with it. On Aug. 22, Quintana felt such pain after a simulated game at Coors Field that he believed his comeback was for naught.
When Quintana’s exercise session ended Thursday, he was still smiling from being informed by manager Warren Schaeffer that he will return to the rotation before the 2026 season concludes.
“After throwing that live BP, I felt really bad -- I didn’t know what happened,” Quintana said. “But the next week, I went to Arizona [to the Rockies’ complex] and everything changed. Wow. Everything changed. I started feeling better and better.
“Sometimes, we need to be patient. I learned you can’t speed [up] recovery. You have to go step by step.”
The plan was for his return to be Friday night against the Mariners, but Tanner Gordon’s struggles (seven runs on 10 hits over three innings) in a 9-2 loss to the Padres on Thursday forced enough bullpen usage to make the Rockies re-think Quintana's reinstatement date.
Quintana’s next start will be the 367th of his career -- fourth-most among active pitchers behind Justin Verlander (556), Max Scherzer (490) and Patrick Corbin (369).
The Rockies signed Quintana to a one-year, $6 million deal before Spring Training among a trio of other veteran pitchers. Tomoyuki Suzuki had a solid first half but struggled in the second, and Michael Lorenzen was released in mid-August.
Quintana started slowly, but began finding his form. He went 2-0 with a 3.04 ERA over five starts from April 26 to May 18 before leaving the mound in pain after giving up six runs in 1 1/3 innings at Arizona on May 24.
Following his injury, Quintana’s goal became more simple: to pitch again before the season ends.
“He’s a 15-year vet that got hurt in May -- it would be easy for a guy like that, with all that time, to just shut it down and call it a day,” Schaeffer said. “But he set an example for all the young players, and everybody around here about how to take something very difficult for him and turn it into a positive.”
The Rockies will have -- at most -- 11 starts out of Quintana this year, and may not have any more since he will be a free agent. But maybe Quintana’s time in Colorado offered lessons to the younger pitchers on the roster, and veterans that the team plans to bring back to improve the weakest part of the club.
“The altitude is real -- it’s no joke,” Quintana said. “Talking about young guys, they’re trying to figure out how to make pitch movement at altitude and be consistently in the zone. Then you go to sea level and everything changes. And you feel good and come back here. Plus, recovery is a little harder.”
Quintana was signed partly because he has brought himself up to date with data that can give him an edge. But Quintana broke out of his slow start by turning his focus away from complicated calculations.
During his best five-start stretch of 2026 (April 26 to May 18), with three of the games at Coors Field, Quintana logged 26 2/3 innings and struck out 16 against eight walks. Returning to the basics, the Rockies went 4-1 during that span.
“I don’t think it helps me to think about how to get more movement or anything like that,” Quintana said. “I’m more about results. Whatever I need to do to get results, I want to do it. It’s simple.”
Schaeffer said, “In this game, you can make things so very complicated, and young players need to keep it simple – just get outs. For [Quintana] to say that, it speaks a lot of truth because he’s gotten outs for a long time.”
Quintana said he talked to multiple teams last offseason, with the Rockies being one of three that made offers. He is open to a return.
In his career, Quintana has made 10 postseason appearances, including eight starts. Re-taking the mound in the final days of the season, though, has its own excitement.
“When I cross the lines, it’ll be like Game 7,” he said. “It could be your last opportunity. You have to make the best effort you have. It’s a blessing to get the baseball again, and I’m still loving the game.”