Chicago Cubs trade with White Sox for Jose Quintana good for both sides
The Jose Quintana deal between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox was a strong trade for both sides.
On Thursday, Chicago baseball turned MLB upside down, as the Chicago Cubs and White Sox agreed to a massive trade. The Cubs acquired starting pitcher Jose Quintana to solidify their rotation and gave up a nice mix of prospects to do so.
In the trade, the White Sox acquired top five prospect in all of baseball, outfielder Eloy Jimenez, Cubs top pitching prospect Dylan Cease and infielders Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. Make no mistake about it, this is a deal that helps both teams.
The Cubs side
The Cubs have had obvious issues in their rotation all season long. Jon Lester has been decent, but not near as good as we have come to expect. Jake Arrieta has been extremely inconsistent, Kyle Hendricks has been injured and John Lackey has been downright awful.
Theo Epstein and company needed to make a big move for a starting pitcher if they expected to compete for a postseason spot. In Quintana, they land a legitimate impact pitcher who solidifies their entire rotation.
With Hendricks due back from injury soon, the Cubs’ rotation now looks very strong. A top four of Lester, Quintana, Hendricks and Arrieta is strong. It will now be interesting to see if Lackey earns that fifth spot, or if the Cubs stick with Mike Montgomery in the rotation. Do not be surprised if Lackey gets a DFA here soon.
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Quintana obviously helps the Cubs in 2017. However, arguably the best part of this trade for the North Siders is his contract. Quintana is under team control through the 2020 season at a very reasonable price. Basically, the Cubs just added a top of the line starting pitcher for the next three and a half season. It was the biggest need on their roster and they filled it with authority.
For the White Sox
Now, Quintana is a great addition for the Chicago Cubs, but the White Sox did extremely well here too. They are clearly a rebuilding team who wanted to maximize Quintana’s value on the market. They were never going to trade him away at a low price, but the White Sox undoubtedly got a haul here.
The centerpiece is Eloy Jimenez, who was ranked as the fifth best prospect in the game in Baseball America’s latest update. Jimenez is an absolute offensive force who has a ton of upside in the near future. With fantastic raw power and contact ability, Jimenez is also a fair bet to at least be a strong major league contributor for many years on the South Side.
The other big name in this trade for the White Sox is Dylan Cease. Cease was ranked 83rd on that same list by Baseball America. He is a young pitching prospect with a ton of natural upside.
Cease still has a few years before he becomes a major-league threat, but his stuff is incredible. The young pitcher showcases a fastball that can reach 100 mph and a knockout curveball. He is can get his command under control and add a third pitch, Cease has legitimate ace potential at the major league level.
Rose and Flete are both fringe infield prospects who help fill out the White Sox’ system. However, with adding Jimenez and Cease alone, the White Sox’ already strong minor league system is much better. They clearly have the best collection of prospects in the game and a bright future ahead of them.
Good for both sides
When it comes down to it, both teams did well here. These are two organizations in different places. The Cubs are obviously competitors and filled the single biggest need on their roster, a high-level controllable starting pitcher. They gave up a ton of talent for Quintana, but not giving up a major league asset is huge here. This trade is an obvious win for the Cubs.
However, I still like this trade for the White Sox as well. They added impact players to a rebuilding organization who will undoubtedly help them in the long-term. Make no mistake about it, Rick Hahn and company did well in this trade too.
You can usually find a winner and a loser in any trade made in any sport. However, I think this is the rare case where both teams win. Both the Chicago Cubs and White Sox did an incredible job of finding talent that fits their organization well. It should be interesting to see these players in their new situations.
Stay tuned to Da Windy City for much more on this trade soon!