While we haven’t heard anything recently with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago White Sox about a possible deal for starting pitcher Jose Quintana, the two sides have been actively talking according to Ken Rosenthal. He mentioned that the Pirates and Houston Astros appear to be the favorites at this point, with the New York Yankees appearing like a longshot.
Sources: #WhiteSox engaged in daily trade discussions on Quintana. #Pirates, #Astros involved, possibly others. #Yankees appear longshot.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 4, 2017
Phil Rogers, who works for MLB.com and previous worked for the Chicago Tribune, noted yesterday that the White Sox are interested in Austin Meadows as part of the return. He speculates that the Pirates could substitute Josh Bell, but Meadows is a target they have asked for in return.
@whitesox want Austin Meadows in Jose Quintana deal but Josh Bell also fits the need for young hitters w/big upside.
— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) January 3, 2017
The Pirates pursuit of Quintana started back in December and has continued on despite the fact they signed Ivan Nova to a three-year deal. Quintana would give the Pirates four starters at the top of their rotation who are all under team control for at least the next three seasons. They have Gerrit Cole and Nova through 2019 and Jameson Taillon has six full seasons remaining. As for Quintana, the 27-year-old lefty has four years left on his deal at a total of $37.85 M. He has thrown at least 200 innings in each of the last four seasons and he has a career 3.71 ERA/3.74 FIP.
You can read a detailed analysis here of what his addition would mean for the Pirates and what it might take to acquire him. If anything else comes up tonight, we will post an update here.
