Chicago Cubs: Who comes out when Jose Quintana comes back?

The Chicago Cubs have a decision to make when Josse Quintana comes back.

The Chicago Cubs have gotten off to a very good start. They have one of the best records in baseball despite some questions going into the season. Their bullpen has almost cost them multiple games which is a major concern but for now, they have been able to hang on. Their starting pitching has been awesome which makes things difficult for whenever Jose Quintana comes back from his strange dishwashing injury.

You know that Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Yu Darvish aren’t going anywhere as long as they are healthy. Alec Mills and Tyler Chatwood are the ones that make you think when it comes to the return of Quintana. Both of those players had question marks before they made their first starts this year but they both have impressed up to this point.

Tyler Chatwood always had awesome pure stuff. He was never really able to put command behind it and it has made him look bad at times. Well, so far this year, he has been one of the Cubs best. He is 2-0 with a 0.71 and a 0.789 WHIP. He has 19 strikeouts in the two starts. If he can keep this up, he is probably a lock to stay in the rotation regardless of Quintana’s status.

Alec Mills was probably the one who took Quintana’s place in the rotation. It feels like Chatwood won the fifth spot in the rotation during Spring Training and then again in Summer Camp. Mills came in and has been equally as impressive for the Cubs. He also has a 2-0 record with a 1.38 ERA and 0.769 WHIP. It has been a massively pleasant surprise to see Mills play this well and the Cubs would really benefit if it continues.

Honestly, Quintana hasn’t been that great with the Cubs at all. It makes it even worse when you remember that they acquired him from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez. Cease already has a higher potential than Quintana and Jimenez is looking like one of the best hitters in the league. It might be in the Cubs’ best interest to let these two (Chatwood, Mills) keep going until they prove they don’t deserve it anymore.

They gave up so much to get Quintana because he was cost controlled for multiple years. Well, now his time with the Cubs might almost be up so starting him because they gave up a lot probably isn’t a good strategy. They probably want to go with their best options in a short season like this. They can use Quintana in the bullpen or even use six starters. It will certainly be interesting to see how they handle the situation when he comes back.