The 2025 MLB season hasn’t gone the way that 30-year-old Cal Quantrill had hoped, and now that he’s been released by the Atlanta Braves after being added as a depth option, it’s unclear what the next step of his career will be.

Quantrill signed with the Miami Marlins right before spring training, and he ended up earning a spot in their rotation to begin the year. His ERA sat at 8.10 by the end of April, though he’d put up a 3.18 ERA in May and a roughly league average 4.56 ERA in June that helped his numbers on the year stabilize.

He had his best month of the year in July, posting a 2.92 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP, walking just four batters and striking out 21 in 24 2/3 innings of work. At the end of the month, his ERA was the lowest it had been all season, sitting at 4.79, and given where he began the year, that was a solid turnaround.

The problem for the former Stanford Cardinal was that the wheels kind of came off in August, as the righty posted a 12.15 ERA. In two of his first three outings of the month, he allowed seven earned runs against Houston and Boston, and at that point he was placed on waivers and picked up by Atlanta.

The Braves have been dealing with loads of injuries to their pitching staff this season, and he was brought in as a potential arm to help them fill frames to finish out the year. He’d receive two starts, the first of which was decent against the New York Mets. He went 4 2/3 innings, giving up three earned, but he also walked five in the process which kept him from getting deeper into the game.

Aug 10, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Cal Quantrill (47) pitches the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

In his second (and final) start with Atlanta, Quantrill had the worst start of his season, giving up nine runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in 3 1/3 innings of work. While he didn’t walk anyone, he did give up four home runs. He’d allowed as many as four home runs in just one month this season, back in June.

Next steps for Quantrill

Atlanta released him earlier this week, which is putting into question what his next step will be. Given that he signed in the middle of February ahead of the season, there may not be a huge market for him to begin the offseason. It also doesn’t help that he was much better at home in Miami, posting a 5.23 ERA in 11 starts, compared to a 6.68 ERA on the road in 15.

The Marlins seemed to work on his pitch mix a bit this year, and he had success with that change over the course of the season in spurts, relying more on his cutter than his four-seamer in 2025. He’s also a guy that throws six pitches regularly, and they made it so that he was using five of those offerings at least 10% of the time.

It was a solid strategy, but he also doesn’t necessarily have a dominant pitch to work with right now. His splitter had been that pitch last season, but this year it wasn’t nearly as effective (.268 BAA / .279 xBA).

The likely outcome for Quantrill this winter will be that he signs a minor-league deal with a club looking to add some depth while seeing a little upside in his profile. It wouldn’t hurt if that club’s home park also suppresses home runs. His 6.04 ERA this season was more than a run higher than the 4.98 he put up in 2024, but his FIP 5.14, down from the 5.32 he had last year.

Part of the reason for that was the number of home runs he gave up (22), which is one less than he gave up when playing for the Colorado Rockies in ’24. He also totaled a little over 30 more innings last season, so the rate of long ball was higher this season.

All that is to say that his actual pitching was a little better this season, so if his home park could help limit the damage done by home runs, he could have a decent season. The Milwaukee Brewers are both a pitching factory, and have a fairly pitcher-friendly park. It also doesn’t hurt that they typically go through a number of arms every year.

There’s a chance that a club sees what he did in the middle of the season and signs him to be a fifth starter, but not having him on the 40-man all offseason is the more likely scenario.

The hope for Quantrill is that one of those offers will come on a club where there is a path back to the big leagues in 2026.