Cubs trade top two prospects for All-Star pitcher |
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today acquired left-handed pitcher José Quintana from the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Eloy Jimenez, right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease, and infielders Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. Quintana is under club control through the 2020 campaign.
Quintana, 28, was a 2016 All-Star and is 50-54 with a 3.51 ERA (412 ER/1,055.1 IP) in 172 major league appearances, all but three as a starter, over the last six seasons with the White Sox (2012-17). He has made 32 or more starts while reaching 200.0 or more innings in each of the last four campaigns. Last season, Quintana went 13-12 with a 3.20 ERA (74 ER/208.0 IP) in 32 starts, earning his first-career All-Star nod. He set career highs in innings pitched, strikeouts and wins while limiting foes to a .246 batting average, .295 on-base percentage and .393 slugging percentage, good for a .687 OPS against. His batting average against to both sides of the plate was nearly identical, as right-handed batters hit .247 and lefthanders hit .246. Quintana received Cy Young votes at the end of the campaign and went on to pitch in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Colombia. Quintana has gone 4-8 with a 4.49 ERA (52 ER/104.1 IP) in 18 starts for the White Sox this season, averaging better than a strikeout per inning for the first time in his career (109 strikeouts in 104.1 innings pitched), and remains on pace for his fifth-consecutive 32-plus start, 200.0-plus inning season in his career. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Quintana made his big league debut in 2012 and enjoyed his first full big league campaign a year later, reaching 33 starts and 200.0 innings for the first time in his career. He won nine games in 2013, 2014 and 2015 before his first double-digit win campaign in 2016. Among qualifying pitchers starting in 2013, Quintana has received the second-lowest run support average in the American League in that span. The Arjona, Colombia native signed a major league contract with the White Sox on November 10, 2011 after being released from previous minor league stints with the New York Mets and New York Yankees. Today’s trade gives Quintana the distinction of having been a member of the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs organizations. More on the @Cubs acquisition of LHP Jose Quintana comes your way on #HighHeat with @MadDogUnleashed at 1pE! pic.twitter.com/BNPgR0cISu Jimenez, 20, is batting .271 (42-for-155) with six doubles, eight home runs and 32 RBI in 42 games with Single-A Myrtle Beach this season. He originally signed with the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2013. Cease, 21, is 1-2 with a 2.79 ERA (16 ER/51.2 IP) in 13 starts with Single-A South Bend this season. He was originally selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2014 Draft. Rose, 22, is batting .227 (53-for-233) with 15 doubles, 14 home runs and 38 RBI in 65 games with Myrtle Beach this season. He was originally selected by the Cubs in the 11th round of the 2015 Draft. Flete, 24, is batting .305 (84-for-275) with 15 doubles, six home runs and 37 RBI in 70 games with Myrtle Beach this season. He was originally signed by the Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2012.
