White Sox: Jose Quintana Notches Win No. 12
By Matt Manetti
White Sox lefty Jose Quintana notched his 12th victory in an 8-1 win over Cleveland. He allowed just one run on five hits while striking out six.
The Chicago White Sox turned to Jose Quintana in hopes of getting another great performance. And boy did he deliver. Quintana allowed one run on five hits and struck out six in an 8-1 win over Cleveland on Tuesday.
The lefty pitched into the eighth inning for the third time this season but still looked sharp. Quintana was looking for his second-career complete game, but Robin Ventura opted for Chris Beck, who pitched a perfect ninth to seal the win.
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Despite throwing 101 pitches through eight innings he still looked like he had some gas left over. Quintana picked up where Miguel Gonzalez left off. And It was nice to see him get some run support for a change. What’s more important is how he has bounced back after having a rough middle of the season. Quintana is 7-2 in his last 13 starts after being 5-8 with a 3.18 ERA at the end of June.
He has definitely been a different pitcher during the second half of the season. Something the Sox desperately needed. He’s not letting trade talk distract him. In fact, he’s improving his trade value. With all the controversy surrounding Chris Sale, might the Sox want to keep Quintana and trade him instead?
I don’t think this is completely out of the question. Sale has shown to be a little bit of a hot head and has several run-ins with Vice President Kenny Williams. And how can we forget the jersey cutting fiasco. At least in this respect, Quintana has shown to be a great teammate. He’s not an outspokem leader but he doesn’t bring distractions to the team, like Sale has shown. And, despite all the struggles this team has endured, he continues to pitch like an ace.
The 27 year old has one of the best contracts in baseball, aside from Sale. And it makes him quite attractive to rival clubs looking to make a big splash this offseason. One thing the Sox have to consider is how much of a return they could get for him, but the way he is pitching, the return could be equal to that of Sale.
I am not in favor of trading either one. Pitching is at a premium and you can never have enough good arms in your organization. It’s also rare to have two of the premiere lefties in the game However, the Sox have a solid young core of players. And it looks like they have some budding stars in the minors. Don’t forget, this team also has Carlos Rodon and Carson Fulmer. If trading one of their young aces [Sale or Quintana] can put this team in a position to compete next year and beyond, don’t you have to at least explore the idea?
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It might not be the most popular move, but it definitely should be explored. After all, it can’t hurt to see what the net drags in. The front office needs to start looking towards the future. The only way the Sox can compete in this town is if they win on a consistent basis.