Rumor: Pirates Interested in Acquiring Jose Quintana

White Sox All-Star Jose Quintana reportedly drawing trade interest from Pirates. Will the South Siders trade another top pitcher this offseason?

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana is reportedly drawing trade interest from the Pittsburgh Pirates according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Although the Pirates recently resigned starting pitcher Ivan Nova, they’re still trying to acquire Quintana according to Rosenthal.

The rumor was first reported by Buster Olney of ESPN.com on Wednesday. According to Olney, Quintana’s current contract is perfect for the Pirates budget. Quintana is under team control for the next four years with $36.5 million remaining on his current contract. With a small market team in the Pirates, adding Quintana would certainly be ideal for their modest budget. According to Spotrac, the Pirates opening day payroll this year was just over $71 million.

If the Pirates are able to land Quintana, they would be able to bolster a starting rotation that was mostly injured this past season. Current Pirates ace Gerrit Cole missed time due to injury this season, and no Pirates starter pitched more than 128 innings. Jeff Locke led the Pirates with 127.1 innings pitched, while Cole only pitched 116 innings.

Source: #Pirates still trying to acquire #WhiteSox’s Quintana even after Nova deal. That pursuit was first reported by @Buster_ESPN.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 22, 2016

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Although the Pirates don’t have a strong farm system as other teams that have been reportedly interested in Quintana such as the Yankees or Astros, they could still be an ideal trading partner for the White Sox. The White Sox could target a number of Pirates prospects such as right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Austin Meadows and first baseman Josh Bell. These players are the top three prospects in the Pirates farm system according to mlbpipeline.com.

Glasnow, the Pirates top prospect and eighth overall was 8-3 last season with Triple A Indianapolis Indians and sported a 1.87 ERA in 20 starts. He appeared in seven games with the Pirates and made four starts, but was 0-2 with a 4.24 ERA. Meadows, the Pirates second ranked prospect and ninth overall hasn’t made his MLB debut, but he hit .214 in 37 games in Triple A with six home runs and 24 RBIs. Bell had a solid stint with the Pirates this season and is their third ranked prospect, 20th overall. The 24-year-old hit .273 with three home runs and 19 RBIs in 45 games for Pittsburgh.

The White Sox could certainly add to an already improved farm system with a trade of Quintana. However, if they were to trade Quintana this offseason, there will be another void in their pitching rotation. Quintana pitched 208 innings this past season, and with the trade of Chris Sale, the White Sox pitching rotation is already thin on durable starters. Although a trade of Quintana could hurt the White Sox present, it could make the future much brighter for this franchise.

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