The Cubs and White Sox have gotten together on a pretty big trade. The White Sox announced Thursday that left-handed starting pitcher Jose Quintana has been sent to the Cubs for minor-leaguers Eloy Jimenez (OF), Dylan Cease (RHP), Matt Rose (1B) and Bryant Flete (infielder).
Quintana, 28, has been widely known to be available since last offseason, specifically once the White Sox went into rebuild mode and traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. Last season, Quintana was 13-12 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 208 innings. He was an All-Star and finished 10th in AL Cy Young voting.
This season, Quintana got off to a rocky start. After two straight disastrous outings to close out May, Quintana was 2-7 with a 5.60 ERA through 11 starts. Since then, however, he's settled in. In his last seven starts, Quintana is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 40 innings.
The Cubs definitely need starting pitching help and have long been known to want a controlled one instead of a rental. Quintana is signed through 2018 with club options for 2019 ($10.5M) and 2020 ($11.5M). So he definitely qualifies here and, so long as the Cubs get the good version and not the April-May 2017 version, is a bargain.
The White Sox return looks big.
Jimenez is the big prize here. He's widely considered a top-10 prospect by most outlets. He's only 20 and in Class A-Advanced this year, hitting .271/.351/.490 with six doubles, two triples and eight homers in 42 games.
Cease, 21, is also a top-100 prospect, per most outlets, but he's on the low end (Baseball America had him 97th heading into this season). In 13 starts in Class A, he's 1-2 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. He has walked 26, but the strikeout rate is what pops there for sure.
Rose, 22, is hitting .227/.281/.481 with 14 homers in 65 games in Class A-Advanced. Flete, 24, is hitting .305/.355/.425 in 70 games with Class A-Advanced Myrtle Beach.
If it feels like the Cubs and White Sox don't often match up for a trade these days, that's because they don't. The last time there was a trade between the two, the Cubs acquired Neal Cotts from the Sox for Carlos Vasquez and David Aardsma, back in November of 2006. Before that, you have to go back to 1998 for a Matt Karchner and Jon Garland swap. Before that? The George Bell for Ken Patterson and Sammy Sosa trade in 1992.
In the latter two, you'll find one big-time win for each the Cubs and the White Sox. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out. The Cubs got a cost-controlled starter with an All-Star track record without touching their big-league roster while the White Sox got a big prospect package. It could well be a win-win.