White Sox Anniversary: Jose Quintana trade with Cubs
The Chicago White Sox trading Jose Q1uintana accelerated the tone of the rebuild.
The Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs form one of the better intercity rivalries in all of the sports. The fans of these two teams don’t like each other despite their teams being in two separate divisions and leagues. They play each other anywhere from 4 to 6 times a season but out of 162, they don’t matter at all. Things are a little different in 2020 with the short season but in general, they are nothing more than interleague opponents.
Well, on this day three years ago, the White Sox and Cubs reignited their rivalry by making a huge trade. Looking to win back to back World Series titles, the Cubs desperately needed another starter. Instead of going for a guy like Justin Verlander or Noah Syndergaard, they went for White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana.
Quintana was a great pitcher for the White Sox so it makes sense why the Cubs might want to add him for the stretch to the playoffs. It didn’t really warrant them sending Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose, and Bryant Flete to the White Sox though. The White Sox made that trade and that changed the entire perception of their rebuild.
Quintana would go on to be borderline average to below average for the Cubs after being an all-star for the White Sox. Meanwhile, Jimenez is on track to become a superstar power hitter and Cease is on his way to being a really nice starter. This is a trade the White Sox make again ten out of ten times while the Cubs would certainly take it back.
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It should always make you feel good when you win a big trade and it feels even better for the fans because the White Sox made the Cubs look bad here. The great baseball president that Theo Epstein is got worked by Rick Hahn. Quintana was a great pitcher and a fan favorite when he was on the White Sox but getting a kid like Jimenez is huge for the Sox. If they do complete this rebuild and start competing for titles, Jimenez will certainly be a major factor and so will Cease.