White Sox: Report Suggests Market for Jose Quintana Slowing Down
By Matt Manetti
The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo suggests the market for Jose Quintana is cooling off. The White Sox left hander has a 5.60 ERA this season.
A new report suggests the market for Jose Quintana is cooling off. Nick Carfardo writes interested teams are starting to back off and wonder if there’s something physically wrong with Quintana. Of course, the Chicago White Sox haven’t stated there’s anything wrong. It still doesn’t answer why the once dominant lefty is struggling. He is 2-7 with a 5.60 ERA this season.
This conflicts an earlier column from Jon Heyman that quoted a rival GM suggesting the slow start wouldn’t really affect Quintana’s trade value. Whatever the case, the White Sox didn’t show much interest in trading him during the offseason. His name was constantly brought up in trade rumors, but we never heard anything really materialize.
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It’s easy now to say Rick Hahn should have traded the left hander when he had the chance. But this is probably the worst thing the organization thought possible. Quintana had a really nice market brewing and they were looking to get a huge return. Now, if the report from Cafardo is correct, teams are starting to lose interest due to the poor start. That doesn’t mean something couldn’t change and Quintana could turn things around. He’s certainly a good enough pitcher.
If Quintana could string together a couple quality starts, that could change things. He definitely hasn’t been himself this season. But he still is averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings, which is a career high. Not to mention he has an extremely team-friendly contract. Those are two things that will definitely appeal to potential suitors.
If Quintana’s trade value is too damaged, the White Sox could always look to move him during the offseason. That may not allow Hahn to get exactly what he wants, but there is really nothing to suggest the White Sox will get exactly what they want. Even for Quintana. It’s hard to fathom a team giving up a Chris Sale like package for a guy who is 48-53 with a 3.55 ERA in his career. Remember, last season was the first time he had a winning season.
The White Sox definitely aren’t in a hurry to trade their ace. There’s no reason to. They aren’t paying him a lot of money compared to other top pitchers in MLB, and he has a lot of upside if he returns to form. And he’s only 28 years old. It’s easy to say Hahn should have traded him during the offseason, but there may not have been a trade available. Just because we read names being tossed around in trade rumors doesn’t mean there was an actual deal on the table.
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Hopefully Quintana can somehow find his rhythm and return to the pitcher he was last season. That won’t just increase his trade value, but it will also help the White Sox rotation. In the grand scheme of things, that is probably what’s most important. The White Sox starters have really struggled and they could use a boost from their ace. They may not be serious contenders but with Quintana pitching the way he’s capable of, they can at least be competitive and keep this season interesting.