While the Braves work their way through Spring Training in North Port, Alex Anthopoulos isn’t resting, continually churning through available free agents, with Jose Quintana being one.

MLB insider Héctor Gómez is reporting that Atlanta is one of several clubs — Mets, Rangers, Padres and Brewers are the others — that is interested in the veteran hurler.

Quintana is coming off a season in which he accrued a 3.75 ERA across 170.1 innings pitched for the Mets, but his 4.56 FIP and 1.250 WHIP are concerning. The Braves could do much worse, though.

Gómez also reported that Quintana and the Pirates were close to coming to a deal for one year and $5.5 million. If that’s the going rate, the Braves should be interested.

A guy who can eat over 150 innings at the back of the rotation will always be valuable in this league. The only issue with a potential deal for Quintana is the Braves would have to 1) use a six-man rotation, 2) be comfortable moving Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes to the bullpen, or 3) move on from Anderson or Holmes completely.

“Anthopoulos said Braves have payroll flexibility to add to rotation & bullpen, but said they’re not close on a deal and made it clear any starter would have to make sense for them to block Holmes, Anderson, etc,” David O’Brien of The Athletic reported on Twitter before Spring Training.

The Braves don’t need Jose Quintana, Holmes, or any of their young pitchers to give the rotation frontline stuff. They need them to stay healthy and give the club solid production at the back end of the rotation. That’s all this prospective deal represents, more depth.

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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire